The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– Captive audience –
The airlines which have taken the plunge are using different pricing models. Some offer inflight internet as a free perk. Others charge by the hour, flight, or even offer longer subscriptions as a way to recoup their costs and avoid overloading the available bandwidth.
With passengers being in effect being a captive audience, some airlines are considering how to use it as a means to boost onboard sales.
It can also help reduce losses, helping airlines to recoup their investments.
“Today there are fraudulent transactions onboard” as card transactions for inflight sales are not verified, said Sebastien Maire, an aeronautics expert at the Olivier Wyman consultancy.
He put the annual losses at 90 million euros ($100 million).
Security is another worry for airlines and equipment manufacturers who want to make sure inflight internet access isn’t used as a means to mount a cyber attack on an aircraft.
“The issue of cybersecurity is at the centre of our preoccupations. Every day there are new threats and every day you have to anticipate them,” Huot-Marchand at Thales, one of the leading global firms in cybersecurity, said.
Even if the United States and other nations broaden a ban to bringing laptops and tablets, the widespread use of smartphones by consumers to watch videos, write emails and use social networks mean that there will still be growing demand for internet connectivity.
“And while the recent US and UK bans of personal electronic devices on certain flights might impact dynamics if extended, we believe that aero connectivity is poised for structural growth,” Euroconsult chief executive Pacome Revillon said recently.
