Nearly a fifth of travelers switch from a preferred airline to one that offers better Wi-Fi, according to Honeywell International, a technology and manufacturing company.
The feedback from 1,045 Americans, who flew in the past 12 months, reveal that in-flight WiFi affects a passenger’s buying and flight purchases. Nine in 10 respondents say they access Wi-Fi on domestic flights and nearly 30 percent say they would swap flights to fly standby on a different plane with better Wi-Fi.
The 2014 survey completed by Honeywell International has provided the company and airline carriers to provide more Wi-Fi services in the future. “Better connections and stronger services will translate into a better in-flight Wi-Fi experience that enables passengers to do more of the activities of they enjoy while traveling,” said a Honeywell spokesman.
Most travelers said they enjoyed reading the news or planning their next vacation while using in-flight Wi-Fi. Travelers said in-flight Wi-Fi can make flying more efficient by alerting family and friends about flight delays and automatically rebooking connecting flights in flights are delayed.
Three in 10 travelers also said they would prefer an in-flight Wi-Fi reward program over a typical frequent-flier one. But American Airlines doesn’t have any future plans for such a rewards program for its Gogo Inflight Internet.
American Airlines spokeswoman Martha Thomas told The Washington Times, “We definitely know that inflight Wi-Fi is something our customers really value and it’s something we are rolling out in our new fleet.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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