blog Want to use the internet on your flight on an Australian airline? That’s nice — but it’s also not yet possible, appears to be the conclusion to an extensive article on the subject published over at brand spanking new online publication Australian Business Traveller. This paragraph seems to be emblematic of the airlines’ attitude towards the subject:

A Qantas spokesperson confirmed to Australian Business Traveller that it does plan to offer internet in its A380s, though it had nothing to say at the moment about when it would be activated, or at what price. She also said Qantas had no plans to announce for internet connectivity in its other planes such as its domestic fleet.

The situation in the US, however, appears a little different:

Flying domestically in the US is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to internet access in the plane. A company called Aircell has installed EV-DO Rev. A base stations pointing at the sky on mobile towers right across continental USA. The inflight internet service is called GoGo, and aircraft from numerous airlines connect to the Aircell base stations and provide inflight internet access via WiFi at affordable rates.

Shock, horror. Once again — through no obvious reason — Australia gets left behind in the technology curve. We have planes with the facility to offer in-flight internet access and a passenger base that would happily pay for it, but airlines that can’t seem to get across the finish line.

When does Generation Y reach the management layer again?

Image credit: Qantas