While in-flight GSM services are priced around international roaming rates, most airlines are still guessing what to charge for Wi-Fi services, with little operational data on which to base pricing strategies, according to a white paper released today by Freesky Research.
"Surveys have proven to be unreliable for determining what to charge for this service, and there is little usage data from terrestrial services that can be extrapolated for in-flight Wi-Fi,' said David Gross, author of the paper. 'This has led to a lot of unnecessary, haphazard speculation over how to price the service. But instead of finger-crossed hopes of reaching particular break-even usage points, airlines will be better served by linking Wi-Fi to other business objectives that have nothing to do with technology or in-flight entertainment.'
The white paper, 'In Flight Wi-Fi Pricing : Beyond $10 per Passenger', can be downloaded for free from the company's online store at http://shop.freeskyresearch.com, or by sending an e-mail to airdata@freeskyresearch.com with the subject line 'Wi-Fi White Paper'.
