WASHINGTON, July 6 (UPI) -- A man who advises airlines on in-flight technology says price may be the biggest obstacle to the use of WiFi by passengers.
Consultant Michael Planey says airlines need to reduce the price if they want more passengers to take advantage of the technology, USA Today reported Tuesday.
Gogo, the largest airline WiFi service provider, charges $4.95 to $12.95 to connect to the Internet depending on the length of the flight.
Business travelers can pay a monthly rate of $34.95 for WiFi service on all eight carriers with which Gogo partners.
Airlines say they're pleased with consumer response so far but some analysts estimate less than 10 percent of the passengers who could use WiFi to log onto the Internet during their flight are actually doing so.
"I believe the more successful business model is to reduce the session price as much as possible to drive usage up," Planey says.
