Man Says He Was Gouged After Receiving $1,171 In-Flight WiFi Bill

(John Kittelsrud)

There are a number of reasons why you might choose to purchase in-flight WiFi: to finish a work project or just to pass the time on your five-hour flight. Depending on how long you’re flying high and the nature of your work, the bill for your internet use can add up quickly; just ask a passenger who connected on a Singapore Airlines flight.

Gigaom reports the passenger stepped off the plane to find a not-so-welcome bill on his phone for $1,171.46.

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The man says that his internet use during the flight consisted of sending emails, uploading documents and other ordinary tasks.

Unfortunately for him, the airline’s $28.99 sign-on fee only included 30 MB of data, which meant he was hit with expensive overage charges.

“I wish I could blame an addiction to Netflix or some intellectual documentary that made me $1200 smarter,” the man tells Gigaom. “However, the Singapore Airlines internet was painfully slow, so videos would be impossible and that means I didn’t get any smarter… except about how to charge a lot of money for stuff. I did learn that.”

The man posted his displeasure for what he called price gouging on Twitter. Singapore Airlines responded saying they are looking into the matter.

Part of at the issue regarding in-flight WiFi is the exclusive, long-term contracts airlines have locked into with internet providers. Currently Gogo supports 80% of all wired commercial aircraft in the United States using its cellular network-based technology to keep passengers on the Internet while in flight.

Unfortunately, any relief passengers might have seen in the next year fell away this week when AT&T announced it was scrapping plans to create an in-flight WiFi network.

Man gets $1,171 bill for using in-flight WiFi [Gigaom]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist