Are you fed up with paying extortionate prices for dial-up-style Wi-Fi speeds on your flights? Well one airline isn’t happy about providing such a poor service, and is looking to do something about it.
American Airlines is suing its provider Gogo over its shockingly poor download speeds, which often struggle to handle basic browsing and won’t even let you entertain the prospect of streaming.
The suit, as first reported by Buzzfeed News, offers Gogo an ultimatum to improve its speeds or let AA out of its contract.
The regulatory filing made by Gogo reveals that AA wants to transfer over to the superior ViaSat satellite internet platform used by airlines such as Virgin and jetBlue.
However, Gogo isn’t going down without a fight. It also has a satellite service in the works, called 2Ku, which Gogo plans to offer to AA in due course.
“We believe that 2Ku is the best-performing technology in the market and look forward to discussing our offer with American,” Gogo said.
Related: Wi-Fi on international flights edges closer
The airline argues that the presence of faster Wi-Fi is a huge part of the decision-making process for customers. It claims 1 in 5 passengers have switched from their preferred carrier in order to enjoy better Wi-Fi service on board another airline.
“Customers increasingly demand an in-flight Wi-Fi experience with speeds and reliability comparable to what they get at home,” AA says in the suit. In other words, people want streaming.
Gogo currently has an 80% share of the in-flight market.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.