WirelessG In-flight Wi-Fi pricing and launch dates

Only SAA flying the Boeing aircraft? Expensive flights to get "uncapped" WiFi... Guess I will rather read a book on the cheaper carriers then...
 
Hate SAA service is **** not to mention the food . but like the wifi idea ... will not fly SAA if i can help it
 
jasweb said:
Only SAA flying the Boeing aircraft? Expensive flights to get "uncapped" WiFi... Guess I will rather read a book on the cheaper carriers then...
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not just SAA, Mango too, and also Comair which means BA and Kulula
 
I like how people read "the first aircraft" as "the only aircraft that will ever..."

Grow up, kids. The rest of the world's leaving you behind.

Anyway, I wonder what kind of speeds and reliability can be expected. Would be nice if I could keep myself occupied processing photos on a laptop and posting them in-flight, among other things...
 
Perhaps some of the premium ISPs will add it to their offerings so you get use of the in-flight WiFi like you get to use the WiFi within the departure lounges. Good idea overall.wonder what the speedtest.net results would be like :)
 
Protocol said:
Perhaps some of the premium ISPs will add it to their offerings so you get use of the in-flight WiFi like you get to use the WiFi within the departure lounges. Good idea overall.wonder what the speedtest.net results would be like :)
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I would rather have unlimited wifi while waiting for the plane than on the plane...
 
The aircraft will need to be installed with antennas so the easy way to know if your plane has Wi-Fi is too look for a bump on the top of the plane.

southwest-plane.jpg
 
Satellite connection, if I'm not mistaken. Expect it to be shaped and censored reasonably heavily to ensure passengers don't screw anything up, though.
 
interesting indeed, i'll bet torrents wont be allowed?
 
Let's do the math.

2 million passengers per annum divided between 6 aircraft = 333333 passengers per aircraft per annum.
Assuming that 10% of the passengers pay R50 for connectivity during their flight the ARPU is R1.6 million per annum per aircraft. With an installation price of R3.5 million per aircraft it will take just over 2 years to break even at zero running costs.
That's a pretty big gamble IMO but I hope it works - it's a step in the right direction.
 
I'm wondering...how the hell can it cost them 4 million per aircraft. That seems ridiculously overpriced!

I cannot see why it can't be done for much cheaper. Satellite receiver + a couple of wifi transceivers + labour.

Hyibo!
 
Paul_S said:
Let's do the math.

2 million passengers per annum divided between 6 aircraft = 333333 passengers per aircraft per annum.
Assuming that 10% of the passengers pay R50 for connectivity during their flight the ARPU is R1.6 million per annum per aircraft. With an installation price of R3.5 million per aircraft it will take just over 2 years to break even at zero running costs.
That's a pretty big gamble IMO but I hope it works - it's a step in the right direction.
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So you are looking for an investment with a ROI of 2 years? :O
that's not a gamble if you ask me :)

PS....so you pay for the access....setup a wifihotspot....and resell the bandwith cheaper....hahahahaha
 
drukkie said:
So you are looking for an investment with a ROI of 2 years? :O
that's not a gamble if you ask me :)
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Two years assuming zero running costs.
With a very healthy profit margin of 50% it extends the ROI time frame to over 4 years. Still not bad but I'm not sure I'd want to be an investor.
A simple survey can look very promising - I hope they did their homework well.
 
grav80 said:
I'm wondering...how the hell can it cost them 4 million per aircraft. That seems ridiculously overpriced!

I cannot see why it can't be done for much cheaper. Satellite receiver + a couple of wifi transceivers + labour.

Hyibo!
Click to expand...

It's not just plug and play, The wifi technology on the plane cannot interfere with the instruments on board.

So they're not your 'typical' wifi routers.
 
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