A new name plans to enter the commercial aviation in-flight Wi-Fi business – and it’s called Netflix.
The on-demand video streaming giant claims it can improve Wi-Fi performance at 30,000 feet and reduce airlines’ bandwidth costs by as much as 75%.
Its solution is Netflix Inflight 2.0.
Over the past two years Netflix has partnered with severl airlines on in-flight content streaming including Virgin America, Aeromexico and Qantas.
It has since gained valuable playback data and plans to offer airlines access to its bandwidth-efficient technology for mobile devices.
This will slash bandwidth costs for airlines which in turn it hopes will mean more low-cost or free in-flight Wi-Fi packages for flyers.
"We’ll be able to monitor our video playback metrics to ensure [passengers] have the greatest experience on your flight," said Spencer Wang, vice-president, Finance and Investor Relations at Netflix, Inc.
"By removing the fear about bandwidth costs, airlines will start actively promoting video streaming in flight."
Netflix sees it as an ‘incremental customer-acquisition avenue’ especially as it could well corner the in-flight market for streaming services.
The details were presented to the industry at the APEX Expo on Monday.
Wang said when airlines have offered a Wi-Fi bundling package including Netflix to free Wi-Fi, there is a 30% ‘uplift’ in passenger loyalty.
"Instead of worrying about bandwidth, you can now support and promote certain in-flight services as a core part of your offering rather than sticking it on some kind of premium tier," he said.
