Singapore Airlines will soon be offering free Wi-Fi to customers in all cabin classes from First to Economy. And to that I say: no thanks.
But that was my kneejerk response to the news that Singapore Airlines will soon be offering free wi-fi to customers in all cabin classes from First to Economy.
From July 1, almost every plane in the Singapore Airlines fleet will offer what the airline claims will be high-speed internet for the entire journey – and they won’t even charge you for it. To access it, all you need to do is join the airline’s membership program, KrisFlyer. “With this enhanced offering, our customers will be empowered to stay connected, entertained and productive even at 36,000 feet,” said Mr Yeoh Phee Teikm, Singapore Airlines’ Senior Vice President Customer Experience.
Record scratch. Hold things right there.
While free Wi-Fi sounds great in theory, there are two big downsides. The first, is a reminder – one I stress repeatedly – that every airline perk comes with a cost. You want to be able to post selfies or TikTok vids 10,000m above the South China Sea? That’s fine, but fitting planes out with WiFi equipment costs millions of dollars, more to maintain and even more if you want a guaranteed good signal while everyone is logging on at once. It also means planes needed to be taken out of service as WiFi is fitted, and we all know what fewer planes in the air does to prices (hello post-pandemic sky-high prices!).
From July 1, almost every plane in the Singapore Airlines fleet will offer what the airline claims will be high-speed internet for the entire journey – and they won’t even charge you for it.
So enjoy your makeup tutorials and live State of Origin by all means, but don’t go whinging at a later date when cuts are made to legroom or food quality.
But there’s another, far more holistic reason why free Wi-Fi mightn’t be all it’s cracked up to be.
That’s because deep down we all know that the odd enforced break from the internet is good for us. Admit it, you do. And even though you’ve read the studies, self-help books and stats that tell you living life terminally online is bad for your physical and mental health, you never put that iPhone down, do you? It’s the first thing you see in the morning, the last thing you farewell at night, its bright little screen smudged and smeared by the endless caress of your fingers.
Disconnecting is one of the best things about flying. Picture: Getty
Flying has always been the one place that where we could sever ourselves from our digital addictions. Read a magazine! Watch a whole movie on the back of your chair without getting bored and scrolling TikTok ten minutes in! Have a nice nap! Surrender to the satisfying relief that your boss is going to have to live without a response to their nagging email, and if you’re getting cancelled online you don’t have to know about it (not yet anyway).
Free internet will only see us exiting long-haul flights more frazzled than we already do. Sleep – that magical elixir that helps you fight jetlag – will become much more elusive if you always have the prop of Instagram or Reddit to keep your eyes wired open like you’re in a version of Clockwork Orange In The Clouds. We are creatures almost entirely devoid of self control, airlines! We need you to enforce our self control for us!
Thank you, I’ve said my piece. And now I’m going to go enjoy the rest of my weekend, which was interrupted by writing this column. You see, I’m flying to Perth on Monday and it would’ve been quite nice to type and send it on the plane instead of taking up my Saturday, if only there were a way.
Oh wait…