WiFi on Planes--At Least It's Not Wireless Calls

i am with you Heather. there is nothing more relaxing than looking out the window at the scenary below. a birds eye view of the Earth is awe inspiring and i seldom get tired of it....

after working on a lap top all day, it seems a bit of overkill to log on again on a flight.

reading a book is also the best invention ever for passing the time...

I could not agree with Heather more, in times when one is forever connected to the workplace - time off the the ground is the only time when downtime is acceptable - taking that away will leave very little time for the professional to be with his thoughts in his world.

don't blame jetblue if you can't find work life balance. it is a desperate situation when the cabin of an airliner is the place for seeking quiet and peace of mind. some people like surfing the internet better than the boob tube

Yes, what is the point in judging internet surfers anymore? It is a new age. I perpetually read the business stories on this web site. Why is reading the pertinent news of today on an electronic screen worse than reading a book? I am also one that could live completely without the television anymore. The information available on the internet is much more interesting than all of the stupid sex-based sitcoms that Hollywood continues to grind out. Lastly, flying is boring, and business travelers are especially plagued by this fact. It is about time that fliers can surf the internet on all commercial flights. Not having a laptop myself, the airline should provide a basic alternative for me also. How about renting out one of those $100 laptops given to third world countries?

It's a great option to have, and of course there is nothing worse about reading an article on a screen than in print. But I think what Heather is getting at is that we often feel an obligation to be online when it is available -- whether we really need to get stuff done or not. I find flying -- at least once I'm on the plane -- a very relaxing experience, and it is a refuge I'm slow to part with.

i worked bi-coastal for awhile, and one of my fondest memories is of taking the red-eye across the country and watching the sun come up....i'd never seen a sunrise from this perspective before. it was breathtaking.

if i had had access to the internet on the plane, no doubt, i would have been online and missed this view. it's sad, really, but sometimes we need someone/something to save us from ourselves. personally, i appreciate the 'please turn off all electronic devices' directive. it makes me stop, relax and get back to center.

Hi Jonathan,

You put it exactly right. The urge to login whenever we can seems beyond our control. It's refreshing sometimes to have that taken out of your hands!

my idea of the day:

(sortof stolen from the guy in delhi selling simulated plane rides)

i park the business class section of a 777 along sixth avenue. you board, the door is locked, cell phones turned off, have some food, put on the free socks, take a nap, wake up, bring the laptop out and get some real work done, fourteen hours later you arrive at your office with that brand-new-day feeling, and without all that radiation you get from the upper atmosphere.

What ever happened to "please disable all wireless device capabilities as their electronic interference might cause the plane to crash"?? When there is more money to be made by the airlines and companies like Yahoo, there is no longer a "safety" concern. These ARE the same older model jets, are they not?? I feel like I've been lied to on every flight over the past 2 years.

As a boomer business traveller in my late 40's, I've always lamented over the fact that I HAD to turn off the internet and my electronic devices in the air. But I would take the time to catch up with a good novel, take a snooze, or contemplate (never enough downtime for that).

But now that the option is there, I'm a bit saddened. I won't have the option of not working on the plane, except by my own volition. It's a new information age and I guess the highway is now the skyway.