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Trip Report: Virgin America SFO-Honolulu

February 17, 2016

Headed west out over open water on one of Virgin’s new ETOPS rated A320s (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last week I jumped on a Virgin America flight to the islands- my first since the carrier launched nonstops from San Francisco to Honolulu and Maui late last year. It has since announced that it will add nonstops from LAX to Hawaii later this year.

Virgin’s entry into the Hawaii market has helped spur a fare war, with flights frequently falling into the low $300’s round trip from the west coast- quite a good bargain! The California-to-Hawaii market is packed with nonstops from nearly every other US carrier, including Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian and United.

“Flights with Benefits” is the racy name for one of Virgin America’s new A320 ETOPS jets (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

To be able to offer these flights, Virgin needed a new plane, an ETOPS-rated Airbus A320 (pictured above) that is equipped to fly long distances over water. So that’s the first thing I noticed when I boarded– that “new plane smell” as well as a shimmering new surfaces lit with purple hues from its mod mood lighting.

This A320 also has the newer, higher-definition version of the RED seatback entertainment system– which includes a much more robust, interactive inflight mapping program that kept me occupied for hours. (I am usually much more entertained by the inflight map than inflight movies!)

Inflight internet & live TV not yet operable on Hawaii flights (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Despite the fab new seatback system, I was disappointed to learn that the plane’s satellite-based connectivity system is not working yet, which means no inflight internet or live TV for the 5+ hour flight. Flight attendants rolled their eyes when I asked about this…saying that it’s a very common complaint from Virgin America regulars who love their inflight wi-fi. Regrettably they said that they don’t expect it to be operable until “later this year.” A Virgin spokesperson responded, “Not quite yet” when I asked when the service would be working.

Despite connectivity issues, the RED system does not disappoint– even without a connection, there’s a full roster of very good, current movies and TV shows to watch, some great indie and international choices, and that wonderful inflight mapping feature.

While this picture-of-a-picture is grainy, in real life seat back images are sharp (Chris McGinnis)

While this picture-of-a-picture is grainy, in real life seat back map images are sharp & interactive (Chris McGinnis)

Another downside on these 5+ hour nonstops is crowding at the back of the plane when lines for for the two lavatories form. On my flight, there was a nearly constant queue back there, especially 2-3 hours in. That’s uncomfortable for passengers seated the last 3-4 rows as well as flight attendants who told me that due to a new configuration of the galley area, they are unable to sit down for rest breaks. Luckily on this flight I upgraded to Main Cabin Select, and was seated in row 10 over the wing (exit row).

See Seatguru’s seatmap of Virgin’s newest A320

Main cabin on a new Virgin America A320 seats 138 (Chris McGinnis)

Overall, the flight was very nice and a standout when compared to other carriers– much like nearly all my Virgin America experiences. But to be honest, I was hoping for a bit more fun and celebration about the fact that we were flying to Hawaii. A lei, a flower or slice of pineapple in a cocktail, an aloha shirt or maybe a little ukele music over the PA system would have been a nice addition. All I saw that celebrated this a flight to paradise was a can of POG (Passion, Orange, Guava) juice available on the seatback food & drink ordering system. Nonetheless, the flight was pleasant and on-time.

Take a spin through my trip in the slides below:

At 6:45 am, PreCheck at SFO’s Terminal 2 was a breeze (Chris McGinnis)

Gorgeous sunrise lights up our new A320 and SFO control tower (Chris McGinnis)

Gorgeous sunrise lights up our new A320 and SFO control tower for a 7:30 am departure (Chris McGinnis)

This is what a brand new Virgin America A320 looks like: black leather & mood lights. Wow (Chris McGinnis)

Plenty of knee room on exit row 10 Main Cabin Select (Chris McGinnis)

Seatback mapping system provides trip stats. Note that image is much clearer that what shows in this photo (Chris McGinnis)

Note the clear HD image, and the POG reminder that this flight is paradise-bound! (Chris McGinnis)

My go-to meal on Virgin America, the Protein Plate & Honest T Green Tea, did not disappoint (Chris McGinnis)

My seatmate ordered the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And a POG (Chris McGinnis)

I love the healthy food options on Virgin- this is one of three pages of choices- order from the screen & flight attendant delivers (Chris McGinnis)

One of two shiny new lavs at the back of this A320 (Chris McGinnis)

Flying over gorgeous Oahu on approach to HNL (Chris McGinnis)

Had some fun scrambling around Kauai! (Chris McGinnis)

Had some fun scrambling around Kauai! Then headed back (Chris McGinnis)

I love Honolulu’s open air corridors. Such a nice welcome to paradise 🙂 (Chris McGinnis)

Spectacular view of Honolulu at take off. Note the sparkles in the paint on the engine! (Chris McGinnis)

Spectacular view of Honolulu at take off for SFO. Note the sparkles in the paint on the engine! (Chris McGinnis)

Final look at Waikiki and Diamond Head on our way back to SFO. Aloha! (Chris McGinnis)

What’s your favorite way to get to Hawaii? Been lately? Please leave your comments below.

–Chris McGinnis

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8 fun facts about inflight wi-fi

January 28, 2016

IcelandAir says it has inflight wi-fi on 95% of its transatlantic flights

A recent infographic about inflight wi-fi prepared by Icelandair caught our eye this month. It contains a mountain of info about one of our favorite subjects, and for your reading pleasure, we’ve excised some of the keenest facts, and then provided the entire graphic below. Enjoy!

1> Fifteen years ago, in 2000, only 4% of US households had broadband. Today it’s 87%. Remember this sound?

2> Every month, two million airline passengers connect to inflight wi-fi, which has only been around since 2004.

3> The average American spends between eight and nine hours per week online—about 35 hours per month.

4> Only 18% of travelers travel with phone, tablet and laptop. (Wait, I thought everyone did that!)

5> In 2013 a whopping 84% of inflight wi-fi users used the Apple OS vs Android. Device type is nearly evenly split three ways between phones, tablets and laptops.

6> While it may not always feel like it, inflight wi-fi speeds are increasing rapidly. For example, Icelandair says that when inflight wi-fi was first introduced in 2004, speed was about 3 Mbps. The newest versions of air-to-ground systems (like Gogo’s) run at about 70 Mbps while satellite based systems (like United’s) run at about 50Mbps.

7> Each seatback entertainment system weighs 13 pounds. Removing those systems and having passengers access systems via their own devices would conserve 80 metric tons of fuel year on a single 260-seat Boeing 767. (In the US, United has tried this approach with mixed results.)

8> Outfitting a typical plane with seatback entertainment systems costs about $3 million per plane.

For all the fun facts, take a spin through the infographic below:

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Gogo prices up 50%

June 11, 2015

TravelSkills reader E.B. contacted us last week about an email he received from Gogo. It said that his unlimited inflight wi-fi subscription would increase a hefty 50%– from $40 per month to a painful $60 starting in July.

We contacted Gogo, and a spokesperson confirmed that the price increase was announced last year, and is just now going into effect for existing members who had signed up on the old rate.

Gogo’s current online prices.

Is having unlimited Gogo worth $60 a month? Or does that price point push you out of the market?

Gogo has been doing much experimentation with pricing over the last year, and its current strategy seems to be to raise prices to the point where fewer people actually use the system. We’ve seen the price of day passes bought onboard rise to a whopping $50, which definitely discourages casual use on the plane.

With fewer users draining bandwidth, the service performs better– right? Have you noticed more reliable connection speeds? I have to say that we’ve definitely noticed fewer complaints about Gogo in recent months, so maybe the strategy is working?

For some power users with a nice expense account, $60 per month might still be worth it. But for me, the most economical strategy is to always have a few day passes pre-purchased online in my account and ready to use when I need them. Day passes bought online are just $16 each– still a bargain!

Gogo’s prices when purchased onboard. Do you follow Chris on Twitter? @cjmcginnis CLICK!

My strategy: Don’t buy Gogo on the plane. I was surprised to see the price for a Gogo wi-fi day pass on a Delta transcon flight at a whopping $50 recently– the highest I’ve ever seen it. I’m very glad I took the minute or two while waiting in line to board to buy a day pass in advance on Gogo’s website for just $16, saving $34. If you are a inflight wi-fi freak like me, buy your passes ahead of time. It’s quick and easy– buy one or more passes online before the flight, save them to your account, and when you sign on from the plane, access your pass and you are on. For $16 instead of $50. Buy Gogo passes here.

Southwest offers wi-fi for just $8 per day per device, but we hear regularly that service is very spotty.

Regrettably, United still does not offer a pre-purchase option yet– here’s a shot from its inflight wi-fi FAQ page:

–Chris McGinnis

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2 airlines offer free inflight wi-fi

November 4, 2014

Inside Emirates outstanding hub in Dubai (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Inflight wi-fi still feels like a miracle to me. It’s even more miraculous when it is free.

Right now, you can get it for free on two carriers: One international, the other domestic.

Today, Emirates announced that it will soon offer free wi-fi on all 53 of its A380 superjumbos, and on 28 (out of about 140) Boeing 777s. The Dubai-based carrier says that it is “aggressively retrofitting” all its other aircraft and will eventually offer free wi-fi fleetwide. This is great news because most of Emirates flights are super long-hauls, like this 15-hour journey I took from San Francisco to Dubai– and inflight wi-fi can sure help pass the time.

On most Emirates flights equipped with wi-fi, you’ll get the first 10MBs of data for free. To get a whopping 600MB, all you have to do is pay a token $1 fee. But don’t count on getting free wi-fi yet– Emirates says that due to technical limitations, it is currently not possible to offer the 10MB free “on a few of its A380s and 777s” but that the issue should be “resolved in coming months.”

“If we can offer good quality Wi-Fi connections for everyone onboard at no charge tomorrow, we will do it. But we face a slew of technical limitations – from speed and bandwidth availability and cost, to the supporting hardware and software – all of which we are working hard to address with the industry right now,” said Emirates President Sir Tim Clark. “Ultimately, we believe that onboard Wi-Fi will become a free service, and a standard that customers will expect on a full service airline, just like onboard refreshments and personal inflight entertainment. Emirates is leading the way on this, and we are working closely with our suppliers and various stakeholders towards this vision,” he said. On a few of its A380s and 777s, it is not currently possible to offer the first 10MB free for technical reasons, but the airline says it is working hard to resolve the issue in the coming months.

Emirates says that it saw a 200% spike in Wi-Fi usage in the month of October when it offered a free wi-fi promotion to mark the Eid holidays. During the month, it saw a daily average of 3,500 passengers using onboard Wi-Fi, at an average of 28MB per user. The highest number of Wi-Fi users on a single flight was recorded on an A380 with 153 passengers connecting, and the flight pulling the most bandwidth was nearly 8,000MB from 26 users onboard a Boeing 777 flight. (It did not provide details on which flights.) Its data show that Emirates passengers most frequently access Google, Facebook, and chat services Skype, WhatsApp and BBM. Passengers onboard Emirates also have other ways to stay connected with in-seat sms and email, as well as mobile phone services.

In the US, Emirates flies to Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Boston, New York City and Washington, DC. In December, it will begin flying A380s to both San Francisco and Houston. I’ve heard mixed reviews about Emirates’ inflight wi-fi connections. Have you used it? Please leave your comments below…

In the US, JetBlue’s beta version of Fly-Fi, its inflight wi-fi product, is on all 10 of JetBlue’s Airbus A321s and 73 of its A320s. It should be on all JetBlue’s Airbus aircraft by spring 2015. Eventually, you’ll get it on its Embraer 190s, too.

Fly-Fi is available on JetBlue’s fancy new Mint A321s flying between New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

JetBlue currently offers a basic wi-fi connection for free

On it’s website, JetBlue says that it currently offers a basic wi-fi connection for free

It’s basic “Simply Surf” option is currently free. For more bandwidth, JetBlue says that you can purchase its fatter “Fly-Fi Plus” plan for $9/hour. Just log in to the Fly-Fi portal during your flight and follow the instructions.

JetBlue release this infographic in September. (Source: JetBlue)

Let’s do a bit of expectation management: Inflight wi-fi, no matter what carrier offers it, is still a relatively new phenomenon. Whether it’s paid for, or free, inflight wi-fi WILL NOT work as well as the connection you have at your home or office. Sometimes it will not work at all. Maybe some day it will. But not right now. Expectations managed? 😉

What’s been your experience with inflight wi-fi? Should it be free? Please leave your comments below.

–Chris McGinnis

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Lessons learned about United wi-fi

September 29, 2014

I was happy to get this alert from United telling me that I’d have wi-fi on my flight to Cancun, but…

I admit it. I’m an inflight wi-fi addict. I use it all the time.

Because my professional life pretty much lives online and I live much of my working life in the air, it’s a major productivity enhancer. I’m still in awe (and thankful) that we are able to use wi-fi in the sky at all. I’m very forgiving of spotty connections, but less forgiving of no connections.

United’s much heralded new satellite-based wi-fi service sounds like it must be great. But so far it has never worked for me. To be fair, the product is still in beta. Plus, I have received emails from TravelSkills readers flying over the Atlantic or Pacific letting me know that it’s working for them. Plus, I’ve used the ground-based Gogo wi-fi system on United p.s. flights between California and New York City. But it’s United’s new satellite based system I’ve been eager to try.

Last week I flew United to Cancun from San Francisco via Houston and learned a valuable lesson about when and where United’s wi-fi system works…and where is doesn’t.

The trip got off to a good start since the equipment from San Francisco to Houston was upgraded from an older domestic 757 to an internationally configured 767. That meant I got an upgrade to a nice big lie flat business class seat for the four-hour ride to Houston. The bad news was that United’s 767s don’t have wi-fi yet. But no big loss. I was a happy camper and just defaulted to Gmail offline to keep my email box cleaned up.

Chart: Progress report on United’s wi-fi installations

Next up was my connecting flight from Houston to Cancun on a nice new United 737 with 20 first class seats. Since United sent me the email at the top of this post on the day before my flight, I was excited that I’d finally get to use its inflight wi-fi. Even though it’s only a two-hour flight, it would be worth paying to log on and see how it worked.

As we were taxiing toward take of in Houston, I became even more excited about finally getting to try United’s wi-fi when the flight attendant announced that this flight was equipped with wi-fi and that it only cost $2 per hour (quite a deal compared to what Gogo is charging these days). We took off and headed south and just as we were flying over Galveston and a sea of tankers in the Gulf of Mexico, I thought it was time to log on.

I went through the easy log in process, popped in my credit card number and agreed to the terms and conditions. My credit card was accepted and I agreed to the $2 per hour fee.

And then I saw this pop up:

And I thought, “Hmm. United’s wi-fi is satellite based, which means it should work over water as well as land. Let’s try logging in again.”

So I went back through the process again… including, credit card, CVV number, expiration date and all that.

The light on the galley wall indicated that the system was working

And I ended up with a similar “out of coverage” notification.

Frustrated, I thought I’d talk to the flight attendant that had proudly proclaimed that this flight had wi-fi. “Is the wi-fi system on? For some reason I’m not able to log on,” I asked. He turned around and looked over his should toward the galley and said, “Yes, the light is on, so it’s working.”

I tried logging on again using my laptop. By this time, my seatmate was in on the wi-fi hunt, too, and he was trying to connect from his iPhone. Neither of us could connect.

So we asked the flight attendant again. Flustered, he came back and said, “We just flew up here from Cancun and I think it was working.” Then another flight attendant said, “It only works over land, not over water.”

So I said, “I think it’s a satellite based system, so it should work over the Gulf of Mexico, right? Can you reboot the system?” I asked. He said, “All I can do it turn it off and on. They haven’t really told us much more about it.”

So we gave up.

When I arrived in Cancun, I logged on to the hotel’s wi-fi system and there was a bill from United for $2.

I was excited to see this on my return flight from Cancun to SFO.

On the flight back to SFO, I was on a nonstop 737-800 equipped with wi-fi. This time, the pre-flight announcement included a plug for the satellite-based wi-fi, but the flight attendant said it would not work until we flew “close to the US.” That still puzzled me since this was supposedly a satellite-based system, so as soon as we flew over Brownsville, at the southern tip of Texas, I tried again. Entered all the credit card info (again) my address (again) CVV and the captcha (again). And I was on! For about 10 minutes.

Then I get this message:

So I called over the flight attendant again and said, “So what’s going on? Isn’t this a satellite based system that should be working over land or water or other countries? Why does this say it only works over the continental U.S.?”

Pause. The flight attendant smiled conspiratorially and said, “Yes, it should be working, but we are on a Continental plane that gets its satellite from DirectTV, and the DirectTV satellite only works within a few miles of the US border. We are currently on a heading that keeps us south of the U.S. border.

Flying United just south of the Rio Grande (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

So we continued along the southern side of the Rio Grande over Chihuahua and Hermosillo without a connection. And a planeload of grumbling passengers, including me since I’d paid $8 for a four-hour connection and was not getting it. We eventually flew over Tijuana and out over the Pacific for the remainder of the flight to San Francisco—just far enough away from the coast to stay away from the DirectTV satellite coverage over the continental US.

So even if I never logged on during this flight, I learned something valuable to share with TravelSkills readers: United has two different satellite systems for wi-fi, one made by Panasonic, the other by DirectTV. If you are flying on a Boeing 737 with Direct TV, it will only work over the continental US. If you are flying on another aircraft with the newer Panasonic system, it should work over water. Most of the time.

What’s been YOUR experience with United’s inflight wi-fi product? Please share your comments below!

–Chris McGinnis

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How to save $$ on pricey inflight wi-fi

June 26, 2014

This is a screenshot of Gogo pricing on a recent BOS>SFO flight (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

During long summer flights, one of the best ways to tune out the crowded, hot conditions on the plane is focus on something else… like your email or social networking sites.

Thankfully, getting connected via wi-fi in the air is getting easier and faster thanks to advances in technology.

But it’s not getting any cheaper.

With the price for purchasing a day pass with Gogo during a flight now topping $30, here’s some advice on how to save some money.

Gogo is by far the largest inflight wi-fi provider, offering service on more than 2,000 planes including those of Delta, Virgin America, Alaska, United (p.s. flights), American, US Airways and AirTran among others.

The easiest way to save money is to PRE-purchase a Gogo day pass for $16 from the Gogoair.com web site (that rate increased $2 this month from $14). Even if you don’t end up using the pass on the intended flight, it’s good for a year so you can use it later.

The key to saving money with Gogo is to PRE-purchase your pass

Another good way to save is to pre-purchase a smartphone day pass for just $8. It won’t work with your laptop or tablet, but if all you plan to do is monitor email and check in on social sites with your phone, this is an excellent, money-saving option. (Plus, it’s increasingly tough to get the laptop open when flying in coach anyway!)

On shorter flights, or for just a quick check in on longer flights, Gogo offers a 1-hour pass for just $5.

Now, for those technological advancements. Last year Gogo began rolling out a newer, 3x faster service called ATG-4. At first, only a handful of planes had ATG-4 onboard, but rollout is now at a rapid clip. For example, Virgin America announced this week that all 53 of its A320 aircraft how have the newer, faster service. (You know your plane has ATG-4 when you look at the plane and see two toaster sized white bumps on the side of the fuselage, as well as a fin-like antenna on the bottom. See video below.) Delta says that about half of it’s wi-fi enabled fleet now has ATG-4 installed.

On recent Virgin flights with ATG-4, I’ve definitely noticed a difference. It’s not perfect, but it’s better.

Did you know that Uber is now offering $30 off your first ride when signing up via links on TravelSkills? Come on! Sign up and ride in style!

Gogo and other providers like Honeywell and Panasonic are busy working on new satellite-based solutions to balky inflight connections, which is great news. The problem is that the new systems will not be widespread for years. I’ve heard a handful of positive reviews of JetBlue’s new Fly-Fi system (now on 49 planes @$9 per hour but free during beta), but have not had a chance to try it yet. Have you? My experience with United’s satellite-based system has been spotty at best (it’s been “out of service” on nearly every flight for me), but I did receive emails from a TravelSkills reader flying to Australia recently, which is a pretty cool feat when you think about it!

To me, inflight wi-fi is the greatest thing to happen to business travel since the rollout of the jet engine on commercial flights. Even though the technology is far from perfect, I’ve used it enough to know that I’m not going to get the same speed or reliability that I get at home or the office. And there are times I don’t get the service at all, which only serve to remind me how reliant I’ve become on having wi-fi on the plane.

What about you? What’s your experience been with in-flight wi-fi? Have you used systems other than Gogo on airlines such as JetBlue or United or Southwest? Please let us know about your experience.

–Chris McGinnis

(Disclosure: Gogo is a regular sponsor of the #TravelSkills chat on Twitter www.travelskills.com/chat. Virgin America is a sponsor of this blog.)

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United to allow handhelds below 10k feet

November 6, 2013

JetBlue passengers celebrate relaxation of inflight electronics rules (JetBlue)

United and American announced today that they have obtained FAA permission for passenger use of electronics on board aircraft below 10,000 feet– the FAA granted permission almost immediately to both JetBlue and Delta last week. Other airlines (including Virgin America and Southwest) will have to wait a few more weeks until they get FAA approval.

A Virgin America spokesperson told TravelSkills: “We’re in the process of applying through the new process and hope to implement the changes as soon as possible, with the goal of having the change live in November — in time for the holidays.”

As you know, this was previously deemed to be a safety threat to the aircraft’s electronics and navigation systems. But following significant review, the FAA has determined that is not the case. In fact, many pilots have been using iPads in place of bulky flight manuals, and Delta recently introduced handheld devices for flight attendants, which tend to remain on during all phases of flight, to handle in-flight sales and customer service issues.

Virgin America customers will have to wait a few more weeks for FAA approval for handheld use below 10K (Photo: Virgin America)

According to United’s release, this only applies to handheld devices like phones or tablets… laptops will likely still have to be stowed for landing– but I’m not sure why a laptop poses any more danger than a tablet. And it’s an increasingly fine line separating tablets from laptops. Time will tell…

Wireless Internet via Gogo will NOT be available below 10,000 feet— A Gogo spokesperson told TravelSkills that “it’s a little of both” when we asked if usage was not possible due to FAA rule, or because the service simply does not work below 10K feet.

Flight attendants are surely pleased with this new rule as it keeps them from having to patrol every single device, but it is still unclear how crew will be checking to see if devices are in airplane mode. During taxi and before takeoff, there is nothing to stop a sneaky passenger from checking their email on a smart phone unless a crewmember was to catch them!

What about you? Have you ever left your phone in transmission mode under 10K feet? Do you think that cell phone transmissions can truly impact navigational equipment? Please leave your comments below…

—Chris McGinnis

And just in case you missed it, here’s what else you need to know about Bay Area Travel over the last month:

>New landing procedure at SFO should help w delays! Hallelujah!

>Big, bad United MileagePlus surprise

>Virgin’s new Safety Dance

>Riding the Red Carpet Route to London!

>Double Miles on United & Southwest

>$100 hotels in NYC

>Two posh new lounges coming to SFO

>Airline cat fight benefitting TravelSkills Readers

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New rules about using electronics onboard

November 2, 2013

JetBlue passengers celebrate relaxation of inflight electronics rules (JetBlue)

Delta wasted no time in obtaining FAA permission for passenger use of electronics on board aircraft below 10,000 feet– the FAA granted permission almost immediately to both JetBlue and Delta. Other airlines (including Southwest and AirTran) will have to wait a few more weeks until they get FAA approval.

The lifting of this unpopular rule will allow passengers to read books or listen to music while taxiing on the ground or in the first final phases of flight. Devices must be in airplane mode under 10,000 feet meaning there is no transmission of data (cell phone or Internet use). It appears this only applies to handheld devices like phones or tablets… laptops will still have to be stowed (likely in the seatback pocket) for landing since they can become dangerous projectiles.

Wireless Internet via Gogo will NOT be available below 10,000 feet— A Gogo spokesperson told The TICKET that “it’s a little of both” when we asked if usage was not possible due to FAA rule, or because the service simply does not work below 10K feet.

While the rule lifts the previous ban, airlines must still apply to the FAA for permission showing that their aircraft equipment is suitable for the use of these personal devices below 10,000 feet. According to Delta, all mainline aircraft have completed carrier-defined PED tolerance testing to ensure the safe operation of these electronic devices. Delta Connection aircraft should be certified “by the end of the year.”

RELATED: And for those of you wondering about the satellite-based wireless Internet that was supposed to be rolled out on Delta’s international fleet earlier this year, plans have apparently been stalled due to FAA certification snags.

A Delta spokesperson told The TICKET that plans are still in place to hopefully have some aircraft equipped with the service in the next few months with an expected completion date by 2015 of all international aircraft. Keep your fingers crossed! (Won’t it be nice to have wi-fi on the ATL-LAX B777 on its way to Sydney or Tokyo?)

—Ramsey Qubein & Chris McGinnis

How to avoid rising inflight wi-fi prices

July 18, 2013

Taking a ride on the Gogo inflight internet lab last year in Itasca, IL (Chris McGinnis)

Inflight wi-fi provider Gogo released statistics today showing that San Francisco International has the highest percentage of passengers using its service, followed by New York JFK and then John Wayne/Orange County. LAX is the fourth most-connected. Interestingly, Atlanta did not even place in the top 10. (See infographic below.)

It’s no surprise that airports located in coastal areas with a preponderance of longer transcontinental flights come out near the top of the list. It’s just not worth the hassle or the cost to break out the laptop or tablet on a flight under two hours. That’s why the poorest performers when it comes to wi-fi (such as Pensacola, Savannah or Akron) are small airports that primarily offer only short commuter flights to larger hubs where longer flights await.

In other Gogo news, the price to log-on onboard has jumped lately. Last week when flying between Atlanta and SFO, I noticed that the fee for a day pass purchased onboard had jumped to $26.95. Ouch! That’s a lot when you consider that Gogo competitor Row 44 only charges $8 per day per device for inflight wifi on Southwest Airlines flights.

When I tweeted about the surprise price increase, Gogo responded with the suggestion that frequent users purchase a $14 all day pass BEFORE they get onboard. That represents a significant savings, and will be something I do before every transcontinental flight in the future. Especially now that it seems that buying wi-fi at the last minute at overly bloated prices is like buying last-minute airline tickets at overly bloated prices.

What’s nice about the $14 day pass is that it’s good for 12 months on any Gogo-connected airline– so if you end up not using on one flight, you can use it later. For those with a heavy month of travel ahead, a monthly pass is available for $49.95. Gogo is also offering a three-pack for just $30 good for flights through the end of August. (Look for the “Summer sun 3-pack” on the Gogo home page.)

The key here is that Gogo obviously is pushing us to buy passes ahead of time instead of onboard.

Are you a heavy user of inflight wi-fi? Does the availability of it influence your airline decision? How much is too much to pay for the convenience of logging on on the fly? And finally, have you noticed any improvement is speed or connection using Gogo lately?

Please leave your comments below!

—Chris McGinnis

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How to avoid rising inflight wi-fi prices

July 18, 2013

Taking a ride on Gogo's inflight lab last year (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Taking a ride on Gogo’s inflight lab in Itasca, IL last year (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Inflight wi-fi provider Gogo released statistics today showing that SFO has the highest percentage of passengers using its service, followed by New York JFK and then John Wayne/Orange County. LAX is the fourth most-connected. (See infographic below.)

In other Gogo news, the price to log-on onboard has jumped lately. Last week when flying between SFO and Atlanta, I noticed that the fee for a day pass purchased onboard had jumped to $26.95. Ouch! That’s a lot when you consider that Gogo competitor Row 44 only charges $8 per day per device for inflight wifi on Southwest Airlines flights.

Are YOU signed up for TravelSkills- TravelSkills? If not, why not? Subscribe to TravelSkills via e-mail!

The key here is that Gogo obviously is pushing us to buy passes ahead of time instead of onboard.

Are you a heavy user of inflight wi-fi? Does the availability of it influence your airline decision (hello, United!)? How much is too much to pay for the convenience of logging on on the fly? And finally, have you noticed any improvement is speed or connection using Gogo lately?

Please leave your comments below!

—Chris McGinnis

***

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Mileage Plus ranking + new 787 @ SFO + PreCheck + Airport standoff

May 16, 2013

In This Issue: New 787 Dreamliner flight at SFO, Mileage Plus ranks highly, Sour Milk, SFO Airport Tiff, Virgin America loss, Tito’s vodka, dream of a new Terminal 1 at SFO. Sorry for the recent lag in updates! Let’s catch up on Bay Area Travel news right now>>>

A Japan Airlines 787 Dreamliner at San Diego Int’l Airport– soon at SFO!

MORE 787 DREAMLINERS. Starting September 1, Japan Airlines will fly a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner between SFO and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport, replacing the current B777 service. ANA will re-start Boeing 787 flights between San Jose and Tokyo-Narita on June 1. (Did you see the slideshow from my ANA flight from SJC to Tokyo?) Currently, United has no plans to fly Dreamliners from SFO.

UNITED EASIEST TO REDEEM. Among major legacy carriers, United ranks highest when it comes to redeeming awards online, according to a survey by Ideaworks. The report says that United had award seats available 80% of the time. By comparison, American had award seats available only 49% of the time. Delta and US Airways are the most parsimonious with awards, with seats available only 36% of the time. Only AirTran/Southwest and JetBlue ranked higher than United. Full report here.

VIRGIN AMERICA NARROWS LOSS. Our hometown carrier is still struggling to climb into the black, even as many of its competitors are showing relatively healthy and consistent profits (except United). In the first quarter of this year, Virgin America lost $46 million, which is not good. But it’s better than the loss of $76 million during the same period a year ago. It’s expanding, too, adding new flights between LAX and Las Vegas, and from SFO to Newark and Austin, and between San Jose and LAX. Based on that sorta good news, the carrier is flirting with the idea of an IPO. Would you invest in Virgin America if it manages to go public? Please leave your comments below.

Rendering of proposed Terminal 1 at SFO

DREAMING OF A NEW TERMINAL 1. Check out this interesting proposal for a massive re-do of SFO’s Terminal 1. It’s many years away, but it looks super cool. And tatty old T1 could use some help, that’s for sure.

PRECHECK NEWS. Have you noticed that United has started printing your PreCheck status on your boarding pass? Nice to know before you go whether or not you’ll get those glorious three beeps! Another good thing about PreCheck: It’s now available for those traveling on “select international flights.” Has anyone out there been able to use PreCheck internationally yet? SFO officials say that there are no PreCheck lanes at the international terminal yet—so is it smarter to use the PreCheck lanes at T3, and then walk to your international flight? Please leave your comments below.

INFLIGHT WI-FI POLL. Last winter we visited Gogo headquarters in Itasca, Illinois and took a fun ride on their in-flight lab for a look-see at a new system called ATG-4 that is designed to improve Gogo’s connections and speed. That was six months ago and we are wondering… Have you noticed a difference? PLEASE ANSWER! (The “Vote” button might appear clear, but you must click it to VOTE and see the results)

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FLIGHTCAR UPDATE. By now you’ve likely heard of FlightCar, a new online service that offers air travelers free parking by SFO, plus the opportunity to earn some cash when they rent your car to other passengers arriving at SFO. Sounds like a good “sharing economy” deal, but the airport is not at all happy about these unlicensed interlopers (including other services like pink mustachioed Lyft). Earlier this year, SFO issued a cease and desist order, forbidding these new companies from operating at the airport. To get around the C&D order, FlightCar hired a licensed black car service to shuttle its customers between the airport and their private parking lot. FlightCar’s Shri Ganeshram told TravelSkills: “We’re operating within the legal bounds of the system using independent licensed liveries to drop off and pick up passengers at the airport.” He says that FlightCar is now renting about 80 cars per week, despite the SFO cease and desist order. So we contacted SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel to find out if FlightCar is operating legally. He said, “As a public agency, we need to ensure a level playing field for all providers of ground transportation, and FlightCar must sign a permit and provide proof of insurance like every other off-airport rental car company. This is a matter of basic fairness. FlightCar has yet to meet the obligations, including insurance, required for an SFO permit that would certify them for safe and legal operation at the airport. Their method of transportation to/from the offsite location does not change the fact that they are attempting to operate at SFO without a proper permit. It remains an issue of safety and fairness for us.” How do you think this will all shake out? Have you, or would you use FlightCar? Please leave your comments below!

6 MONTHS FREE AND CLEAR. Starting later this month, CLEAR card holders will be able to use their cards for expedited security screening at San Antonio International Airport. And starting this month, Visa Signature is working with CLEAR to bring the uninitiated a free 6-month CLEAR membership — and $60 off the annual rate of $179 when membership automatically renews. Do you have one of the many Visa Signature cards? Then check this out.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Dearest TravelSkills Readers: TravelSkills needs more readers. Can you help us out? Please forward this link to frequent traveling friends, travel agents, travel managers, travel bloggers and tell them why you love TravelSkills and encourage them to sign up! THANKS!

CLOUDY MILK. The campaign to rename San Francisco International after Harvey Milk has come to a vague close with only a promise to name an as-yet unnamed terminal at SFO after him. I’m glad the whole contentious issue is (mostly) behind us. What about you? Please leave your comments below.

New 76-seat Embraer 175 from United

MORE BARBIE JETS. United will add 30 Embraer 175 regional jets to the United Express fleet starting next year. The 76-seaters will replace the less efficient 50-seat RJs currently in use. United says, “The aircraft will be configured with 12 United First, 16 Economy Plus and 48 United Economy seats. The design of the aircraft will result in more personal space for customers with wider seats and aisles than those on the 50-seat aircraft. The aircraft can accommodate standard carry-on bags, resulting in more convenience for customers.”

BETTER VODKA. Starting in June, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, made in Austin, TX, will replace Absolut vodka on all United flights. Did you know that vodka is the most-served spirit on US flights?

Join Chris McGinnis & JohnnyJet for the #travelskills chat on Friday mornings!

Join Chris McGinnis & JohnnyJet for the #travelskills Twitter chat on Friday mornings!

SEEKING SUMMER TRAVEL DEALS? Join in the #TravelSkills chat with @JohnnyJet and me this Friday at 9 am PDT. Our new chat has been trending in the US on Twitter on nearly every Friday, so stop by and join the fun. And learn something, or uncover a summer travel deal! See www.travelskills.com/chat

MORE MEXICO AT SFO. Aeromexico will add a second daily round trip to Mexico City on July 15. Check out BAT editor Chris McGinnis’ recent Business Trip: Mexico City for BBC!

San Francisco – Mexico City

Flight Number	Departure	Arrival	Frequency
AM 0665	01:00 am	07:14 am	Daily
AM 0669*	01:25 pm	07:53 pm	Daily

Mexico City – San Francisco

Flight Number	Departure	Arrival	Frequency
AM 0664	08:26 pm	11:25 pm	Daily
AM 0668*	09:30 am	12:07 pm	Daily

*New flights schedules available starting July 15^th, all in local time and subject to change without notice.

SEEKING SASSY WHEELS in Dallas or Austin? High end Silvercar (which rents only silver Audi A4s) is offering four Virgin America Elevate reward points per $1 spent, 2,500 bonus points with your first rental, and another 2,500 points for your fourth rental through November 30. Have you tried Slivercar? What did you think?

—Chris McGinnis

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How we use inflight wi-fi [Infographic]

March 9, 2013

Gogo tower in remote Nevada location

Wired frequent flyers living in Atlanta are lucky– both Delta and AirTran are industry leaders when it comes to having inflight wi-fi available on planes. It’s a rare occasion that an Atlantan jumps on jet at ATL that doesn’t have the service. That’s not the case for the poor souls in other airline hubs where getting inflight wi-fi is a hit or miss proposition.

But the situation is getting better nationally.

For example, Southwest now has wi-fi on 75% of its fleet. United says that it should have 300 wi-fi equipped aircraft by the end of this year. JetBlue is talking about adding a newer, faster version of satellite based wi-fi and offering it for free to all passengers. Delta is adding wi-fi to its international fleet.

This week Gogo, the major purveyor of inflight wi-fi produced some interesting numbers around how we use their service– see below for an interesting infographic.

From Gogo:

When it comes to staying connected at 36,000 feet, tablets and smartphones now make up a whopping 67% of the devices being used to connect to Gogo. Tablets are the most preferred device at 35%, followed closely by laptops (33%) and smartphones (32%).

Apple devices are still reigning above the clouds, following the tablet trend with the iPad being the device of choice. Among all mobile devices being used to connect through Gogo, 84 percent carry Apple’s iOS operating system while 16 percent carry the Android operating system. If you look only at the smartphones our customers are using, the iPhone makes up 73 percent and all Android devices make up 26 percent, with Blackberry and Windows based devices each making up less than 1 percent of devices being used in air.

So, what are our passengers doing once they connect at 30,000 feet? It’s no surprise that general Web surfing ranked as the number one in air, online activity users want to do. Besides Web surfing, passengers spend their time in flight accessing personal email, engaging in social media, checking sports scores and shopping. Business travelers ranked accessing their work email and finalizing reports as the most frequent activity above the clouds. Passengers also utilize Gogo to explore their final destination’s weather, entertainment options and directions upon their arrival.

How we use inflight wi-fi [Infographic]

March 8, 2013

Locations of Gogo’s ground based antenna beaming wifi to planes (Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills Readers (BATs) are lucky. Since the area’s technocratic elite demand wi-fi access on planes, most airlines offer the service on flights to/from Bay Area airports. Hometown carrier Virgin America offers it on all flights. Delta, the third largest carrier at SFO offers it on all domestic flights. United and American offer it on all their flights between SFO and New York JFK– but it’s hit or miss on other flights.

Southwest now has wi-fi on 75% of its fleet. United says that it should have 300 wi-fi equipped aircraft by the end of this year. JetBlue is talking about adding a newer, faster version of satellite based wi-fi and offering it for free to all passengers.

This week Gogo, the major purveyor of inflight wi-fi produced some interesting numbers around how we use their service– see below for an interesting infographic.

From Gogo:

When it comes to staying connected at 36,000 feet, tablets and smartphones now make up a whopping 67% of the devices being used to connect to Gogo. Tablets are the most preferred device at 35%, followed closely by laptops (33%) and smartphones (32%).

Apple devices are still reigning above the clouds, following the tablet trend with the iPad being the device of choice. Among all mobile devices being used to connect through Gogo, 84 percent carry Apple’s iOS operating system while 16 percent carry the Android operating system. If you look only at the smartphones our customers are using, the iPhone makes up 73 percent and all Android devices make up 26 percent, with Blackberry and Windows based devices each making up less than 1 percent of devices being used in air.

So, what are our passengers doing once they connect at 30,000 feet? It’s no surprise that general Web surfing ranked as the number one in air, online activity users want to do. Besides Web surfing, passengers spend their time in flight accessing personal email, engaging in social media, checking sports scores and shopping. Business travelers ranked accessing their work email and finalizing reports as the most frequent activity above the clouds. Passengers also utilize Gogo to explore their final destination’s weather, entertainment options and directions upon their arrival.

Gogo upgrades inflight wi-fi capacity

November 13, 2012

Gogo HQ in Itasca, IL (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Are you gaga for Gogo inflight wi-fi?

To me, Gogo’s introduction of in-flight wi-fi in 2008 was the greatest thing to happen to business travel since the invention of the jet engine. It has so transformed the flying experience that I now choose my airline based on whether or not it offers wi-fi on board—especially if the flight is longer than two hours.

But recently it seems that the more popular in-flight wi-fi gets, the more difficult is to get a good signal, especially on those long transcontinental flights when the service is most valuable. For example, on two out of three recent transcontinental flights, the signal was so weak or inconsistent that I complained to Gogo, which offered me two $18 credits for use on future flights.

Obviously, Gogo does not want to keep handing out freebies like that, so they’ve fattened the pipes to the plane with the introduction of a new higher capacity system called ATG 4, which is rolling out now on Delta, Virgin America and US Airways jets.

Gogo says the next generation system is capable of delivering a peak speed of 9.8 Mbps, which is three times faster than current standard of 3.1 on the first generation ATG. (ATG is short for “Air to ground.) Gogo is able to do this with the addition of three extra antennae (vs. only one before) and another modem plus a software upgrade.

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Earlier this week, Gogo invited me and a few travel and tech writers to its headquarters in Itasca, Il to check out the new ATG 4 system aboard its “jet-propelled internet lab” — a Challenger 600 jet flying out of the Aurora Municipal Airport near Chicago.

Gogo’s inflight internet lab (See slideshow for a look inside)

Onboard the plush 9-seater, the back half of which was full or racks of equipment and cabling, I heard lots of techno babble about latency, megahertz, simulations, Rev A and Rev B, HSPA Mbps, ping tests and page loading. All way over my head.

All I cared about was whether or not I got a good signal—and on this flight I did—good enough to stream a two-minute YouTube video with only a few bumps for buffering, even though Gogo now discourages or even blocks access bandwidth hogging sites like Hulu or Netflix. But there were only nine passengers on board flying over the western suburbs of Chicago.

It remains to be seen what kind of signal I’ll get using ATG 4 the next time I’m flying over Colorado when half the plane is logged on.

Right now, there are only 25 jets that have the new ATG 4 system—out of a total of 1680 jets flying with Gogo onboard. Gogo is not making a big deal about the upgrade on the plane– the only way you know you are on an upgraded one is by taking a good look at the plane parked at the gate—look for two fins on the underbelly (vs. just one on the bottom before) , and two directional antennae (bicycle helmet sized humps) on either side if the aircraft fuselage.

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Currently, installation of ATG 4 is ongoing on Delta, Virgin America and US Airways. Gogo expects to add it to United’s PS fleet and on American Airlines starting next year.

Here are a few extra newsy nuggets I picked up on my visit to Gogo HQ and the test flight:

>There are currently 173 ground-based Gogo transmitters mounted on celluar towers in the continental US and southern Alaska that beam up a signal within a 250 mile radius.

>Gogo is adding and upgrading its transmitters fastest in the Midwest—which is where most complaints about weak signal occur.

>A Gogo system onboard a plane consists of two large toaster-sized black metal boxes mounted in the belly, two or three routers (about the size of the one you may have in your house) that are placed in the ceiling of the aircraft to evenly distribute the wi-fi signal among passengers, and lots of cabling. Total added weight is about 150 lbs.

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>The new ATG 4 system can handle about 65 passengers logged on simultaneously—the current max is about half that. This means that overload problems are more likely on larger planes flying on longer routes– for example, both of my poor connection experiences occurred on 250-seat Delta 767s.

>Remember when Google sponsored free inflight during the holidays in 2009? So many users logged on that systems crashed and complaints soared. Gogo says that after that, freebie promos have been (and will continue to be) limited to short 15 minute test periods only.

>While overall in-flight wi-fi usage stats sound low (at around 5%), Virgin America says that usage runs as high as 40% on transcontinental flights, especially those nerd birds between San Francisco and New York.

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What’s been your experience with in-flight wi-fi? Are you a heavy user like me? Have you experienced connectivity issues? Would you rather spend your time on board reading or gazing out the window? Please leave your comments below.

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Airline Update: More Delta legroom, holiday fare advice, disappearing Biscoffs

November 1, 2011

ECONOMY COMFORT EXPANDS. Good news for sore knees! Following in the footsteps of rival United Airlines (and its Economy Plus seating), Delta is expanding its popular Economy Comfort seating from just international flights to nearly all aircraft fleet wide—including domestic flights. The first three to five rows of the main cabin on all Delta mainline and regional jets (except CRJ-200’s) will soon feature three more inches between rows. Passengers seated in this section will enjoy priority boarding—but there will be no free booze in domestic Economy Comfort. The first domestic 757 with Economy Comfort will enter service this month, and Delta says all aircraft will be equipped with the seating by late 2012. Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Medallions can select these seats at time of reservation free of charge. Silver Medallions may request them 24 hours prior to departure free of charge or reserve them at a 50% discount at time of reservation. All other passengers may purchase these extra legroom seats for a fee of $19-$99 depending on the length of the flight. Note: With Southwest doing away with AirTran’s popular business class seating, Economy Comfort will be a welcome option on those long transcons out to the west coast. What do you think about Economy Comfort?

HOLIDAY FARE SHOPPING? AirTran and Southwest launched another winter fare sale today (must book by Nov 14), but as usual the fine print reveals multiple blackout dates around Thanksgiving or Christmas. That’s not great news for holiday travelers, but if you’ve avoided business trips due to high fares, you’ll find some great deals for flights during the first three weeks of December, and much of January. So get out there and see some clients you’ve been avoiding! Here’s more advice on holiday travel peaks and valleys.

FREE BLURBS ON DELTA/GOGO PORTAL. Gogo wi-fi users will notice a new landing page when they launch their web browser on Delta flights. It includes details for your flight including the remaining flight time. Additional free content will include select news stories, PEOPLE magazine content, destination information and events, and shopping opportunities.

MORE SOUTHWEST CHANGES COMING. Bloomberg reports that Southwest plans to cut back on AirTran flights from ATL to smaller cities and focus on adding more nonstops to larger cities that are more profitable. Southwest’s first flights to/from Atlanta (with no biz class…and no bag fees) begin in February. Stay tuned! Have you decided whether you’ll give Southwest a go when it comes to town? Leave your comments below.

FLAT BEDS AT 30%. Delta updated its progress page last month showing that 30% of its international fleet now has true (vs fake) lie-flat seats, up from 25% in August.

SNACK BASKET CHANGES. First class loyalists have learned to love the famous Delta snack basket on flights without a meal (increasingly common). First class customers now get Walker’s shortbread cookies, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, fun size Snickers, Chewy granola bars, and the traditional peanuts, pretzels, Twix and M&Ms. What is noticeably missing, however, are Delta’s famous Biscoff cookies (oddly still available in coach) and those puffy bags of SunChips. Delta confirmed the case of the disappearing Biscoff from the first class basket during afternoon and evening flights, but said that they are still offered on morning non-meal flights. Thoughts on the new snack additions (and deletions)? Is Walker’s shortbread a suitable substitute for the beloved Biscoff? Please leave your comments below.

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LAST MINUTE MQMs? Remember when Delta teamed up with certain SkyWish charities last December offering valuable MQM’s to those who gave generously? AID Atlanta hauled in a tidy $745,000 as a result of the promo. Generous SkyMilers were able to avoid those pesky end-of-year mileage runs. Delta built a lot of goodwill. Everybody won! We are now trying to determine if Delta will offer something similar this year for those hoping to snag or maintain Medallion status by the end of the year. So far our Delta sources say there’s nothing in the works, but that could change. Another reason to stay tuned to The TICKET!

DELTA IN THE BLACK. Delta reported its financial figures for the third quarter of 2011 and continues to stay in the black partly due to wise fuel hedging, growth in ancillary fee revenue (ya know, those change fees, baggage fees, etc), and a slight decrease in capacity to adjust to travel demand (that’s why flights are fuller these days). In the end, when Delta succeeds, it can spend more to invest in a better product…right?

DELTA #1 FOR FEES. Delta collected more baggage fees and reservation change fees than any other airline in the second quarter of 2011, according to the DOT. In the second quarter, it brought in $226 in baggage fees and $201 million in reservation change fees. American Airlines ranked #2. Overall, airlines brought in an extra $1.5 billion in fee revenue in the second quarter.

DELTA EXPANDS AT LGA. In case you were wondering what happened to the slot exchange at New York LaGuardia (LGA) and Washington Reagan National (DCA) between Delta and US Airways, well, it’s back on. The Department of Transportation has approved the exchange, allowing Delta the right to the majority of US Airways’ landing and takeoff slots at LGA in exchange for a major chunk of Delta’s slots at DCA. The move will allow both airlines to strengthen their position in the marketplace. Delta plans to use the neighboring US Airways’ terminal at LGA, build a connecting bridge between the two terminals, and add an additional Sky Club in the new terminal. A specific timeline has yet to be announced, but this swap will certainly mean more nonstop destinations for Delta passengers at LaGuardia.

HOW TO TRAVEL LIKE A FLIGHT ATTENDANT. Delta’s new Sky Store (www.deltaskystore.com) offers a selection of travel items including luggage, bag tags, apparel, and electronics. Many of the products come recommended by Delta employees themselves who provided the suggestions and inspiration to include certain items in the store. This new venture is designed to showcase the expertise of Delta’s own employees to help travelers find the best, most durable gear for their own travels. A special introductory offer includes a free Gogo wi-fi pass with your first purchase. NOTE: This is different than the Delta Shop (www.deltashop.com), which sells Delta-branded gear, apparel, and merchandise.

TICKET READERS RAVE: Did you see all the positive comments regarding the TSA’s new Pre-Check trusted traveler lanes at ATL? Who knew the much maligned TSA could provoke that kind of praise from jaded biz travel vets like TICKET readers? The program’s still in beta-testing, but let’s see what happens.

MCGINNIS ON BBC.COM. Have you read TICKET editor Chris McGinnis’s recent business travel columns on BBC.com? Here’s a sampling of his most popular recent posts:

>Business Trip: Atlanta (Lemme know if I got it right!)

>What to check out before you check into a hotel

>Avoid paying for overweight bags

>International travelers: 9 must-learn local phrases

>Good idea: Hire a tour guide on your next business trip

ATL’S TERMINAL F. Have you been watching the construction and wondering what ATL’s newest terminal will look like on the inside? Then see this very cool virtual “fly through” of the new International terminal. Well done. Can’t wait to give it a try when it opens this spring…

HELP US HELP YOU! Fwd our URL to friends or share The TICKET via social networking! Tell all your friends to sign up for The TICKET.

Book your trips here:

AIRTRAN: Get the latest, greatest airfare deals from AIRTRAN.COM

DELTA: Click here for the latest fare sales and deals at Delta Air Lines

CHEAPO AIR: Air, hotel car rental and package deals galore from CheapOair.com

HOTWIRE: Great hotel deals and $13.95 per day rental cars with low Hotwire Hot-Rates!

Are you still paying for hotel Wi-Fi?

April 6, 2011

Ask any business traveler about his or her biggest travel-related gripes and you’ll undoubtedly find hotel fees for in-room Internet access near the top of the list.

As much as travelers (and travel writers) squawk about how wrong it feels to have to pay for something that has become as basic to a hotel stay as hot water, the hotel industry has resisted – especially at the high-end.

But I think we might have reached a tipping point in the war against these fees.

Last week global hotel giant Carlson launched a new loyalty program which offers its members free Internet access at all Radisson Hotels worldwide, and at all Carlson brands in the US. That’s nearly 1,100 hotels. And the only thing guests have to do is sign up for the program; no elite status required (details below).

Thorsten Kirschke, COO of Carlson Global, said he’d like to eventually see free Internet access for all guests at all Carlson hotels, and this is the first step in that direction. (Radisson hotels in Europe already offer free access to all guests.)

This move shows that the idea of free hotel Internet access is moving up the food chain to higher-tiered hotels and across entire hotel brand families.

Most of the world’s largest hotel families, such as Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Starwood, charge for Internet access at their upscale brands, but do not charge for it at their budget brands. Best Western was the first to offer free Internet access chain-wide in 2004. (The exception is elite level members of some hotel loyalty programs, who now get it free.)

In addition to Radisson’s move, smaller upscale hotel chains such as Fairmont, IHG’s Hotel Indigo, Hyatt’s Andaz, Kimpton (US) and Omni (US) have moved to free access. Two big standouts at the top of the hotel heap are the ultra-luxe Peninsula and Shangri-La brands; both offer free in-room Internet at all properties worldwide.

So we are getting there. Our cries about fees for Internet access seem to have reached hotel company boardrooms and change is in the air.

In the meantime, here’s some advice to consider on the topic of hotel room Internet access:

Free access does not always mean fast access and in too many cases, business travelers get what they pay for. Now that business travelers are using a lot more bandwidth – to watch movies, or send and receive large files – hotels with older systems can get overloaded and slow down fast. If having a fast Internet connection is crucial, call the hotel before you book and ask the front desk if they get a lot of complaints from guests about Internet connections or speed.

Frequent travelers who always need fast Internet access should consider USB sticks or cards for laptops that provide access to new 3G, 4G or other mobile broadband networks.

Some hotels have moved to a two-tier system. Basic, low bandwidth wi-fi (good enough to check email or browse the web) is free. If you want to watch movies or videos, or interact on social networking sites like Facebook, you’ll have to pay a fee for more bandwidth.

What about you? Are you getting it for free more often than not?