ViaSat Brings More Competition and Faster Speeds to the In-Flight Wi-Fi Market
Skift Take
Do you like super fast Internet the sky? You might want to thank ViaSat, which persuaded airlines they could do better.
When ViaSat pitched American Airlines not long ago, executives at the satellite Internet company made their usual argument. They promised they could deliver reliable high-speed Wi-Fi, similar to what passengers have at home, at a reasonable cost to the airline.
American's executives were skeptical. Other airlines had heard similar assurances before, and not all connectivity companies could deliver. An airline would not want to tell passengers they could stream video, only to learn the system would get overloaded during peak periods, or not work at all over some areas of the United States. "Why should we believe you?" American executives asked, according to ViaSat President and COO Richard Baldridge. "Everybody comes in here and gives us a good presentation."
ViaSat was prepared. Unlike its main U.S. competitor, Gogo, ViaSat does not have a test plane, so Baldridge asked American's executives to buy a ticket on JetBlue Airways or United Airlines, two of ViaSat's key customers. Je
