Working from Above
In-flight Internet Access Will Elevate Meetings to New Heights
The Signal - Business Section, June, 2005
Just when we thought it was safe to relax, unplug and leisurely enjoy our flights, there soon may be a new option available that changes everything. Coming to an airline near you is in-flight Internet access.
Thanks to one major carrier who plans to offer Wi-Fi service on domestic flights by next year, passengers with laptops will be able to surf cyberspace, check emails and send instant messages from 30,000 feet. But wait, it gets even better. Instead of using our credit cards to pay for access, as other international airlines have done, this new service will allow passengers to cash-in frequent flier miles for the chance to log on.
It all sounds well and good, but let’s take a time-out here and stop working. From the airline’s perspective, Wi-Fi service is a must to remain competitive. If a carrier offers this value-add, people will base buying decisions on it. At least in the beginning while the service is novel.
But travelers have a love-hate relationship with their laptops and electronic devices. Many want to go online and avoid missing out on back-and forth emails, news and meetings happening below them on earth. Others look at travel time as the opportunity for some uninterrupted down-time to spend reading, watching the in-flight movie, or simply doing nothing for a few hours. A guilty pleasure perhaps, but quiet time is a quickly vanishing concept in most of our lives.
Since we can’t log on for the time being, we’re still free. But that’s about to shift very soon. Like any technological advancement that comes along, only until we begin using it do we realize how much we need it. Then there is no turning back. We’re hooked.
Laptop carrying travelers initially may try to resist the ability to check email in-flight, just because. But that soon will give way to pressing deadlines and demands from the office or home that requires attention, even when flying through the clouds. There will be no rest for the road-weary traveler. On and always accessible will be a constant way of existing, without reprieve.
Imagine how much the overachiever will be able to accomplish flying from LA to New York. By mid-flight, meetings will be underway, copy approved and correspondence sent. Just think, in-flight cell phone service is the next step. Then forget about catching up on sleep or thumbing through your magazine while in transit.
For many, flying time will be merely a virtual extension of the workplace. We’ll need bigger tray tables to set up shop with files and papers. We’ll become noisy and disruptive to our unplugged neighbors who will have to listen to one-sided conference calls. Where will it end, or has it only just begun?
Good judgment and etiquette will need to be applied and addressed in short order. The do’s and don’ts of the in-air virtual meeting will be a best-seller for some frequent flier who writes the first book. Coach will become a hub for business transactions and first class will be the Wall Street of in-flight deals. Will we be able to call someone on another flight, going the opposite direction? It’s probably only a matter of time.
Try as we might to resist, the future is here and with it comes pioneering new options like Internet service from above. Talk about a creative way to cash in our frequent flier miles. The only real way to avoid the temptation is to leave the laptop and phone at home, or check it in your luggage. Otherwise, buckle your seat belt and prepare for your next meeting.
Commentary provided by Eric Maryanov, president and founder of All-Travel.com, the Los Angeles-based travel management company with an office in Valencia. He can be reached at 661.775.7511..
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