Internet in the Skies?

World Hum contributor Eric Weiner had a fantastic op-ed piece on N.P.R. on Wednesday in which he passionately argues against internet availability on airplanes. “Some of my best ideas take flight at 35,000 feet,” he says. “It could be the thin air up there, but I think there’s another reason: disconnection. No e-mail, no cell phones.”

“The airline cabin represents the last refuge from ubiquitous connectivity,” he continues, “the last place where we are forced, for better or worse, to be with ourselves ... and our thoughts.”

I agree. I spend most flights in a trance-like state, staring out the window, absently watching a movie or listening to music. As Eric Weiner put it, I love that time with myself—I find it to be rejuvenating, centering.

I absolutely don’t want my cell phone (or, more importantly, my neighbor’s cell phone) to work. But I’m also conflicted, I’ll admit. I check my email about as frequently as I blink. If, one day, internet access were not only available on all or most flights, but was free—would I use it and enjoy it? Absolutely. And, in that case, would something have been lost about air travel, as Eric Weiner argues? Perhaps.

Southwest Airlines, by the way, has said it is beginning to test free internet access via satellite on one plane.

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