Jetblue has also installed free high-speed wifi across
80 per cent of its fleet, so customers can watch live sports
on seat-backs and Amazon Prime content on their own
devices. On wifi-enabled domestic flights with Delta Air
Lines, passengers can stream movies and HBO shows at
no extra charge. Delta will complete the rollout of wifi on
long-haul routes by mid-2016.
- Free in-flight wifi
Wifi (for a price) has been available on planes for about
five years, but getting online at 35,000ft is going to get
easier – and cheaper. Along with Jetblue, airlines taking the
lead in rolling it out for free include Finnair, which is now
installing it across its fleet with completion due for 2018.
The first aircraft to feature it, the new A350 XWB, began
flying last autumn. It’s free in business class and either
US$6 an hour or US$17 for the whole flight in economy.
Air China has offered free wifi for some time (but with
limited usability and reliability), while Philippine Airlines
is offering 30 minutes’ free wifi on 21 of its aircraft as part
of its 75th anniversary celebrations. China Southern also
launched a free wifi service on its Guangzhou-Sydney
route in May.
Emirates offers the first 10MB of data free, and is rapidly
extending the service to its whole fleet. In December,
Qatar Airways announced it would give passengers wifi at
no extra charge for the first 15 minutes. By 2020, free wifi
in the sky will likely be the norm. - Private jets take off
According to the Global Business Jet Market report for
2015-19, the private jet market is projected to grow to
US$33.8 billion (from US$20.9 billion in 2013) by the end
of 2020. While Europe and North America are recovering
from the effects of the financial crisis, India and China are
leaping ahead – private business aviation in the former is
expected to triple in the next five years, while more than
125 jets a year are predicted to be delivered to the latter.
54 IInnovation
- Hacks and malware attacks
Cybercrime is rising – experts predict that 2016 will see
Apple, in particular, being targeted. (Security company
Symantec said malware attacks on Apple’s iOS operating
systems more than doubled in 2015.) Travel companies
are already affected, with Hyatt and Hilton experiencing
breaches to systems in 2015.
Following the Hilton attack, Ryan Wilk, a director at
NuData Security, was reported on computer.co.uk as
saying:“This credit card breach is one of a spate of similar
hacks that have occurred over the last year or so targeting
hotels. While we can’t know for sure what hackers’
JUNE (^2016) businesstraveller.asia