The Internet is coming, the Internet is coming! Batten down the hatches and gird your loins, people. SkyNet – I mean StarLink – is free and it’s coming to an aeroplane near you. Or, you can be like me and fly on an aircraft with old Internet and pay twenty bucks for the privilege.
Yes, it seems I made a rookie mistake by not doing my homework. On a recent flight, the Internet was free for first class passengers, business class, and for premium economy. But for the latter, only if you were a member of the airline’s frequent flyer programme, and I am not!
Is twenty bucks worth it?
Twenty bucks – or twenty dollars – was the price advertised for a full flight pass on my flight from Sydney to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. There would be nine hours of sitting around on board with not much to do but read, eat and watch movies. Since I’m pretty much addicted to connectivity, I decided to pay for the Internet service.
Overall Thoughts
Look, while twenty bucks is no big deal, I’d rather have free Wi-Fi. It’s 2026 and it should be free everywhere, and the trend is certainly moving in that direction. I remember the hideous days when you’d be charged for Internet access in hotels and so on. Not fun at all when travelling, particularly considering mobile roaming costs at the time.
Regardless, for me it turned out to be a win, as the alternative was no connectivity at all. What do you think? Would you pay in late 2026 for inflight Internet or would you have just held out until you landed? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Mitchul Hope on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons.
