Original airline business operations to see impact

The potential popularization of in-flight Wi-Fi services is expected to have a major impact on airlines' original in-flight business operations. For instance, the market for traditional in-flight entertainment systems is expected to shrink, and related service providers and operators might be affected.

Currently, the in-flight entertainment system market is mainly dominated by three manufacturers: California-based Panasonic Avionics Corp, Iowa-based Rockwell Collins Inc and French multinational Thales Group.

The in-flight entertainment equipment makes up a fairly expensive portion of the spending by airlines. The cost of a small screen averages at least $10,000, and airlines have chosen not to install the screens on many of their narrow-body jets.

The in-flight entertainment system, which usually costs $3 million to $8 million, accounts for about 10 percent of the total cost of an aircraft. The equipment also adds to the total weight of an aircraft, which contributes to fuel costs, according to the report of web portal Sina.

Xie Ying, an avionics expert, said the traditional screens will gradually disappear. Instead, a system that combines Wi-Fi services and in-flight entertainment content will emerge.

"If in-flight Wi-Fi was available, passengers would be able to watch films and play games on their mobile phones, and this can be a replacement for most of the functions that in-flight entertainment systems offer," Xie said.

According to an inquiry of Ctrip, China's biggest online travel agency, 98 percent of the respondents said they would be willing to use mobile phones during the flights, and 92 percent of them said they hoped very much that in-flight Wi-Fi would be available.

When asked what they would like to do the most with mobile phones on board, 56 percent of the respondents would choose to play games, 17 percent of them would choose to listen to music and watch films, 14 percent would choose to work and 8 percent would choose to chat with friends.

Moreover, if Wi-Fi was available, traditional services such as newspapers and magazines on board would no longer be the only sources of information for passengers.

"The impact of in-flight Wi-Fi on newspapers and magazines in the planes can be comparable to the (negative impact on) traditional media industry by the internet on the ground. Advertising resources will also be split, and this will be a gradual process," said Li Xiaojin, an aviation economics professor from the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin.

He added that the change is also related to the habits of passengers. Since mobile phone use had not been allowed during flights for a long time, a lot of customers, especially some middle-aged business travelers, are used to reading newspapers and magazines while in the air, and their reading habits may not change immediately, even once Wi-Fi is available.