Even as roughly 75% of the 51 Airbus A321s in the US Airways fleet now feature the Aircell Gogo Wi-fi offering, the carrier is opting to commence its full marketing push for onboard Internet on 1 June when all A321s will feature Gogo.
During an update for journalists at the US Airways media day on 28 April, carrier SVP of marketing and planning Andrew Nocella explained the airline will measure customer response to determine if its Gogo offerings will expand. But he feels optimistic that positive customer sentiment will lead to a wider roll-out on the carrier's A320 fleet.
Currently Gogo is available on 38 of the carrier's A321s.
US Airways plans to charge $4.95 for Gogo on flights up to 1.5h for use on laptops or mobile devices, while the costs for flights of 1.5-3h is $9.95 for laptops and $7.95 for mobile devices.
For flights lasting more than 3h, US Airways plans charge $12.95 for using Gogo on laptops and $7.95 for use on mobile equipment.
Commenting on other possible in-flight entertainment options for the future US Airways Scott Kirby says the carrier has "flirted with LiveTV on several occasions in the past", and could envision introducing the product in the future. "But we can also envision doing nothing at all," he adds.
He also believes there is a "chance down the road" to offer individualised seatback IFE options, but he also states that's not a certainty as an increasing number of passengers opt to use their own personal devices.
Another amenity Kirby remains uncertain about is offering in-seat power ports. He believes the ports weigh a lot and carry a high cost.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
