Boeing Abandons Connexion High-Speed Internet Service

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060817/tc_afp/uscompanyaviationitinternetboeing' target='_blank'>http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2006081...tinternetboeing</a><br /><br /></div><i>"US aerospace giant Boeing Co. said it was abandoning its Connexion unit providing high-speed Internet service on planes after only a handful of airlines signed up. 'Over the last six years, we have invested substantial time, resources and technology in Connexion by Boeing,' Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney said in a statement Thursday. 'Regrettably, the market for this service has not materialized as had been expected. We believe this decision best balances the long-term interests of all parties with a stake in Connexion by Boeing,' he said."</i><br /><br />This is not a huge shock if you've followed the progress of Connexion and understood the challenges involved. At $30 a flight or $10 for every 30 minutes of use, it was mostly geared towards business travelers and even for them, would typically only make sense for longer flights. Of course, the plan had little chance of succeeding because very few airlines actually bought into the plan, so most consumers were never given the opportunity to participate. But can you blame the airlines? <br /><br />According to <a href="http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050720-5122.html">Ars Technica</a>, after the FCC lifted its ban on wireless devices while in flight, the FAA refused to do the same with exception to those devices proven safe. That doesn't sound so bad except that the process of proving a device safe was left as the time and expense responsibility of each airline. All in all, I do believe that wireless internet connectivity has a future with the airlines but cost and regulatory obstacles need to be cleared.

[Jason Dunn]

I always have to wonder if they do customer surveys on pricing before launching a service like this. For me, on a 60 minute flight I wouldn't pay. On a four-hour flight? $10 max. I'd never pay $30 for WiFi on a flight, period.

[bmcbride_81]

Just wanted to post on this topic bc I work for boeing ;)

[Underwater Mike]

Very poor marketing on this service all the way around. Even with the FCC/FAA issues, it seemed like a half-assed attempt.

[teq]

I always have to wonder if they do customer surveys on pricing before launching a service like this. For me, on a 60 minute flight I wouldn't pay. On a four-hour flight? $10 max. I'd never pay $30 for WiFi on a flight, period.

Well, on long distance flights the $30 rate was ok IMHO. I've used in once flying from Europe to Tokyo, and it worked great. Especially using Skype was really cool - and much cheaper than any on-board credit card phone service tradionally offered by the airlines.

teq

[xdev]

30 dollars is about 18 pounds....hmm if i was flying from singapore to london like i usually do, its a 13 hour flight. thats a bit steep, but not ridiculous. especially since my laptop will probably only last 4 hours!!

[ctmagnus]

From Geekzone: ASIQ Launches In Flight Wi-Fi Service as Boeing Connexion Disconnects (http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?ContentId=6566)

[teq]

30 dollars is about 18 pounds....hmm if i was flying from singapore to london like i usually do, its a 13 hour flight. thats a bit steep, but not ridiculous. especially since my laptop will probably only last 4 hours!!

Nope, 30 US Dollars is NOT 18 British pounds - but rather about 14 pounds...

teq

[Sven Johannsen]

Seems like the pricing was likely the issue. If somehow it could have been buried in the ticket cost, I think it would have been popular. Many folk's companies pay for the ticket, but wouldn't pay for the additional charge. Kind of like complaining about the $10 breakfast buffet at the hotel with $125 rooms, but seek out the $150 rooms with free breakfast.

[simon tahiti]

I used this between Melbourne and Singapore a few days ago with my iPAQ 6828. I have 2 batteries and an infrared keyboard, and the service allowed me to reply to over 100 emails whilst in transit. It was great.

I think the pricing was good for business travellers (even ones like me who fly economy). I just think it was too much for consumers to pay for entertainment.

For business the sums really add up - should a company pay a mid-level exec $1000 salary to sit and watch movies for a day, or should they pay an extra $30 to keep them working for 8 hours?

A big part of the commercial challenge was unreliable coverage. You just couldn't tell in advance which flights would have the service. I would ALWAYS choose those flights over others if I could tell which ones they were.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

For business the sums really add up - should a company pay a mid-level exec $1000 salary to sit and watch movies for a day, or should they pay an extra $30 to keep them working for 8 hours?
Great point! On a long flight like that, the ROI to a company should be pretty clear. What I wonder though is what percentage of travellers are business versus leisure travellers.

The pricepoint makes sense for businesses, but would they have made more from their leisure travelers had they offered the service for half the cost? I'm not sure myself, but at $30, it's just not very consumer-friendly.