Memo to JetBlue: Change Your WiFi Strategy
Give JetBlue credit: It strives to offer free WiFi service to travelers — in airports and in flight. But so far, those efforts haven’t really impressed The VAR Guy. And the latest effort is downright disappointing. Here’s why.
During a flight from New York to Las Vegas today, The VAR Guy tested Jet Blue’s beta WiFi service. First, the good news. Using the free in-flight WiFi service involves a simple three-step process.
Step 1: Agree to watch a 30-second advertisement. In this case, JiWire technology served up an ad for Charles Schwab Bank. Nice. Simple. Effective.
Step 2: Click a “Get Free Access” button to start the ad. Again, super-simple.
Step 3: Upon completion of the ad, it’s time to “enjoy your free access.” That’s where the problems started.
Once the ad completes, the WiFi serve offers four options. Using:
- Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger
- Amazon.com
- Corporate email
- Or another email service
Um, there’s only one thing worse than no WiFi service… it’s free service where you don’t really have full access to the Web. And in this case, JetBlue’s decision to offer such a limited menu of Internet content was painfully lame.
Back on the ground, JetBlue’s free WiFi service at JFK International Airport in New York is hit and miss, based on the number of travelers online at a given time.
Memo to JetBlue: The VAR Guy will gladly pay $9(US) for in-flight WiFi that offers complete Internet access. In the meantime, please stop teasing your loyal customers with such a limited, useless service. Admittedly, the JetBlue in-flight WiFi service is in beta. Let’s hope the final, production system is vastly different.
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Blocking some content (or ports even) is one thing, and could definitely be understood. But even if they add a lot more content, limiting it like this is very lame.
Carlos: Thanks for siding with The VAR Guy. Our resident blogger failed to mention that other than continued WiFi challenges, The VAR Guy always flies JetBlue whenever possible. It’s his preferred carrier.
Update: JetBlue is now following The VAR Guy’s Twitter updates. Hope they enjoy all the channel coverage. And the once-per-year JetBlue coverage 😉
i fly every week on another airline and if jetblue had wifi i would fly with them all the time. hope they get on this
I will continue to fly Virgin until Jet Blue offers real wifi aboard all flights.
Marcello@4, Arti@5: Your JetBlue feedback isn’t unique. The VAR Guy has received dozens of similar emails from readers. Our resident blogger wonders if JetBlue is listening to the constructive criticism…
-TVG
Speaking of wifi and transportation, what is the roadblock with Amtrak and on board wifi. They do have a 17 hour trip from Va to Fla…
Lee: The VAR Guy is rather amazed by two things…
1. The blog entry above continues to generate strong reader response — through comments and even direct emails to our resident blogger. Readers certainly want their mobile wifi.
2. Most transportation companies still haven’t gotten the message. In The VAR Guy’s case, he’s willing to pay for reliable, fast WiFi. Seems like the free services always seem to have hit-and-miss trade-offs. Not sure what the story is with Amtrak, so The VAR Guy can’t comment directly on their WiFi efforts.
-TVG