FAA Allows WiFi in Planes

[budwzr]

Gee, didn't airlines used to have their own magazines to read during flight? Of course they were 90% ads, as per usual with anything free.

Now they want to let you use wifi, but not voice. And only if the PLANE is equipped with THEIR wifi. So there you have it. Ad revenue trumps safety every time. Makes you wonder if there ever was a safety issue in the first place.

Like the "No Alcohol" ban, but you can buy theirs.

[redwudz]

It was offered for a per flight price of $15US on my last flight with US Airways. It apparently uses the cell tower system already in place and a converter in the plane changes it to WiFi. Unknown what speed it is. But you still had to shut down electronic devices on take off and landings. That may also change.


My biggest surprise at the airport was not having to take off my shoes and belt and put my laptop in a tray for xray. The screening went much quicker. And the TSA people were smiling and polite. That was very surprising.

[budwzr]

That's a great business plan. They cut you off from outside world, then charge you to get back in touch. Genius. Pretty soon those Swanson TV dinners they call meals will be $15 too.

Hey wait, they can have an automated "Snack Rack" built into the seatbacks. You pull out a bag of peanuts and it rings your CC for $7 automatically, like in Hotels. A "large" bag of peanuts would be $10, but only contain 10% more peanuts in a much larger bag. But for that to work, they'd have to ban carry-on snacks. They could claim all food items must be approved by FAA in the future.

Bananas would be banned because the pilot could slip on one if a passenger left it on the floor and it slid into the cockpit, or was bounced in by turbulance. That could cause the plane to crash if the pilot fell into the flight stick.

Unauthorized Gummy Bears could be squished into the seat earphone jack and render it useless. Then a passenger couldn't hear any commercials on the TV screen. And they wouldn't order a movie. So those would have to go.

But how would they get the public to go along? I got it! Next time a terrorist threatens a plane, they can "plant" chips, crackers, and pretzels in his pockets, underwear, and shoes. Then give him a "Media" name like the Junk Food Bomber.

The airlines can act innocent and say "Well, it's not us, it's the FAA and TSA" rule. So you'd have nobody to complain to. And even if you did complain, you'd get a standard boilerplate response like "Thank you for your interest in...blah blah, we take each comment....blah blah blah...unfortunately Congress would have to approve any changes to...blah blah...

Takeaway: The FAA and TSA are "stooges" and "shills" for the airline industry, but get paid from our tax dollars. So We The People are simply ants that get in the way of their picnics, as usual. That's Capitalism. Your capital goes to the capitol, then gets distributed to the "corp-itals".

Formula/FlowChart: YourCash>Congress>Corporation>Offshore>Foreign Loan Back To US>TaxFree>PayWorkers$5Hr= 1000 SuperRich / 1000000000 SuperPoor.

The GOV workers get fat pensions and bennies to play along, so there's no whistle-blowing on each other, and everybody gets to work the system a little too. Need a long weekend? Just use your sick days. Treat your friends and fam to free admission to the Nat Parks.

When's the last time you heard of a GOV worker expose GOV waste? Ingenious.

They got the mafia beat. It's all above board and legal. Brilliant.

[redwudz]

I attended a race in Las Vegas and the price of a beer in the stands was $7US; $4 for soda or water and $4 for peanuts. They have the airline industry beat. At least a small soda on the airline was free.