said by Robert:said by ihatedslr:They should just increase the price of the flight across the board and offer this as a "free" service. I will never pay separately for on-board WiFi. Nope.
It's not fair to raise the price across the board forcing everyone to have to pay for it, when very few might actually take advantage of it.
For a 3-5 hr flight, I would pay $15 for unlimited access.
For a flight longer than 5, I'd pay up to $20 for unlimited access.
We had this argument nearly a decade ago. The actual need to increase the price would be negligible to the flyer.
Back in the 90's and late 80's, flights used to exceed a grand round trip. That was because of what you got during the flight: Free movie, free headsets, free breakfast, free snacks, free lunch, free dinner, free drinks, free nuts, free blankets, etc. But they weren't really "Free", they were just included in the fare. And people paid it.
When the airlines changed their structure in an effort to save costs, yes fares went down, but so did the service levels.
If they were smart they would offer an a la carte airfare service. I would be all over that and honestly, my fare would likely be quite expensive - resulting in more money for the airlines and the ability to itemize for remuneration from my company.
$400 (variable) - base rate
$20 - per meal cost (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
$20 - per movie cost, headphones free and included
$20 - unlimited WiFi usage
$100 - unlimited SkyPhone usage
$500 - First Class upgrade
$20 - unlimited SIRIUS XM access
$100 - open bar
I'd be all over it. Especially the meal cost.