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Comment by sokoloff | Hacker News Reader

> compared to the very tight seats on a plane with no internet at all

I can't remember the last airliner that I was on that didn't have WiFi. Is WiFi uncommon in Europe?

I haven't had Wifi in any of my flights between Thailand and Amsterdam (KLM). Maybe I've always had older planes on this route or something. I haven't flown between any other 2 destinations for the last couple of years.

It really depends on the airline, but it's fairly common to put newer aircraft with WiFi on more business-heavy routes, and put the older aircraft on more tourist-heavy routes where passengers are more cost conscious and probably won't pay for the WiFi or other amenities either.

Yes it's because there's no pan-european ground network yet so airlines are limited to expensive and slow satellite internet.

However this is coming soon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Aviation_Network

I think it’s starting to become a thing, but even in the US the last time I tried it just wasn’t working.

Is WiFi uncommon in Europe?

It's pretty rare, and when they do have it it is incredibly expensive, limited or both. On trains they basically always have it and it's free.

(with the caveat that it's been 2+ years since I was on a plane so I don't know how things have changed)

Also worth noting that cell phones work normally on trains, what with them being on the ground, so you're not even at the mercy of the operator - you can just use your normal service.

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