Broadband in the skies?

19/06/2008

Airlines are looking to introduce in flight broadband to take advantage of a growing market and find new ways of boosting revenue, according to a report by MultiMedia Intelligence (MMI).

MMI expects the market to grow from £3.4 million to £476 million by 2012, with airlines charging a fee to use the service as well as recouping revenue from advertising.

Frost and Sullivan analyst Rani Cleetez expects in flight broadband to become common soon.

"An increasing number of airlines are now looking at in-flight entertainment and connectivity as a source of non-seat revenue," he said in a statement.

"Numerous pilot programs are under way, with JetBlue Airways testing free e-mail and instant messaging services on one of its planes in December 2007. Once successful, JetBlue is likely to charge a fee for the utilization of its Internet services."

Numerous airlines are considering the idea and American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America have already confirmed they will roll out or expand in flight broadband within the next 12 months.