Qantas to offer Wi-Fi in flight
(Credit:
Engadget)
Note to U.S. airlines: Watch what Qantas is doing. The Australian airliner will offer Wi-Fi and electrical outlets on its new A380 and renovated 747-400s next year, according to Engadget. The cost of these perks hasn't been made public, but the carrier will reportedly install power sockets even in some economy cabins.
To which we can't help but respond: Where's the rest of the airline industry on this? For all the hassles and wasted time passenger must endure in the fiasco that passes for air travel these days, the least carriers can do is provide basic Internet access--for a fee, of course, because nothing comes free at 30,000 feet. And to show how passionately we feel about this subject, we're booking a trip to Sydney right now. Take that, United.
Perhaps Qantas is offering ethernet ports that suck their magic Web juice from
some wireless transceiver presumably positioned somewhere "safe" on the
plane? But Wi-Fi? I don't think so...
Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
Cathy Pacific (Hong Kong)
Qatar Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Eithad Airways (United Arab Emirates)
Air New Zealand
Thai Airways (Thailand)
Emirates (United Arab Emirates)
Virgin Atlantic (Britain)
British Airways
and not one North American Airline....