New study shows 54% of air travelers want inflight wifi

Once upon a time, travelers looked forward to disconnecting on a flight and perhaps reading a book or magazine. These days, however, the preference slants toward staying connected. An increasing number of passengers (54%) want the ability to send and receive emails and text messages and make and receive phone calls in-flight, according to a SITA/Air Transport World passenger survey. More than half (53% of the 6,277 passengers who took the survey) want alerts about delays sent directly to their phones, and 57 percent want airport maps and directions. Half would like to use their smartphones for boarding, and nearly 77% said they would use wearable tech to aid them in their travels.