Singapore Airlines' (SIA) announcement this week that it is bringing OnAir-provided mobile connectivity and Wi-Fi to its aircraft is so interesting on so many levels that it deserves a blog all its own (and it will get one).
But before we can opine about why Panasonic Avionics mega-IFE customer SIA selected Airbus/SITA joint venture OnAir's SwiftBroadband-supported connectivity (which can support data rates of up to 432 kbps per channel) over Panasonic's Ku-band satellite-based high-speed Internet connectivity, let's first take a look at how Oman Air is fairing with its own connectivity offering.
Why Oman, RWG? Well, you may recall that Oman this spring became the first airline in the world to offer passengers both in-flight mobile and Internet, after switching on OnAir's solutions on Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Oman charges passengers $29.95 for 26 MB per flight for Internet. And, remarkably, Oman Air has dished the dirt on usage.
In a LinkedIn thread started 24 days ago by the 'In-flight Entertainment' group, Oman in-flight entertainment manager Saurav Mukherjee reveals the following:
We at Oman Air launched our inflight wi-fi services over six months back which has been a welcome move as well as a differentiator for us as we became first airline in the world to provide inflight wi-fi and mobile phone services together.Mukherjee asks if pricing is the factor. At just under $30 for 26 MB of bandwidth (and rumored to be $6 for every additional MB after that...to be confirmed) - I think pricing is at least part of the issue.
Our analysis after the first six months of operation doesn't show very high usage level despite being a technically stable product ...we have been promoting it inflight through IFE, magazines and promo material as well ATL advertising Our offering is $29.9 for 26 MB of bandwidth. Is pricing the main factor ?? Or the marketing efforts have been inadequate to change the perceptions ... If pricing then what is your opinion for an ideal price plan ....
So, I asked my fellow tweeps just how fast they could eat up 26 MB. Here are just some of the answers:
@inloworbit Lift Off
I can use 26MB in a hour or 2, depends on the time of day
@roblandon Rob Landon
The good news is, with that crappy of a connection, 26MB would last you awhile. You aren't going to watch video with it for sure
MarceloDeBiasi Marcelo F. De Biasi
...And we haven't even said anything about corporate users. Then 26 MB dies out in 24-48hs at the most. 26 MB is 'peanuts'... That's it I guess ;)
flightblogger Jon Ostrower
I can kill 26 MB in 20 minutes or less if I'm in the US. Can stretch it 2-3 days if I'm abroad.
CLlENTAV_N3O4TT Lee Six
How fast can you eat up 26 MB of bandwidth on your iPhone? < Most will not really know, like me???? <s>
MilitaryMatters Kevin Paterson
I suspect quicker than people probably realise.
adders Adam Tinworth
About 20 minutes, if I'm uploading pics and vids...
jerrytroll Lee
Uh..I'd say minutes. That's smaller than most App downloads.
2Stern4U Robert Stern
Well, rather quickly. Especially when a data intensive user like me runs Pandora, Twitter, 4square, and more at the same time.
esposimi Michael Esposito
Watching just one YouTube video can kill it.
Then I asked the question - would you pay $30 for 26 MB of bandwidth? Here are some answers:
MilitaryMatters Kevin Paterson
heck no. Wifi should be free everywhere you go in this day and age.
roblandon Rob Landon
Considering the speed, the only way I would pay that is if I was DESPERATE to stay connected for work. Short answer: No way.
rbertoli Rodrigo Bertoli
30 bucks on 26MB ? Personally, I won't. Only in case of emergency, maybe.
orionll Orion Lyau
No, definitely not.
user47 JL Johnson
Prob not... MAYBE just maybe if I was suuuupppeeerrr desperate. -OR- If an attractive female sans-a-band was sitting next to me.
MarceloDeBiasi Marcelo F. De Biasi
...Too expensive if compared to the amount I pay for my broadband intenet access at home and the amount I pay for my smartphone. I can live wo net 4 12hs...
jerrytroll Lee
Absolutely not. Way too much money, and I'd use more than 26mb if I was counting on my device for entertainment on a flight
ymerej Jeremy Greenidge
Final question - would you pay $30 for 26 MB of bandwidth on a long-haul flight? $6 for every 1 MB after that. < hell no!
zachvat Bill Lamb
Re: Final Question - No, I would not pay that. :-)
Hmmm. I think Oman should be posing this question on Twitter! But do read the LinkedIn thread for some great insight from industry experts.
The original photo for this blow (see below) showed an Oman A330 with two antennas. For clarification - the big boy is Oman's Ku antenna for live television and the little guy supports the carrier's SwiftBroadband solutions.
(To photo from Airbus. Bottom photo of Oman aircraft from Ugg Boy's Flickr photo stream)
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