Reading Time: 2 minMore flights than ever are equipped with Wi-Fi, enabling you to stay connected even while hurtling through the air at hundreds of miles per hour. Increasingly, airlines are removing fees altogether — JetBlue and Delta now offer free Wi-Fi on most flights for members of their frequent flyer programs, and American and United aren’t far behind.
But that convenience can make us complacent. Like many frequent flyers, I've started assuming every plane will have working Wi-Fi — until the day it doesn't.
Recently, I booked a midday cross-country flight, ready to turn my seat into a flying office. Then came the dreaded announcement:
“We apologize in advance, but the Wi-Fi on today’s flight is inoperable. Send those last texts and emails while we’re still at the gate.”
At that moment, I pulled out my laptop and quickly downloaded all the emails and tasks that I could, ensuring that I could at least make some progress — even offline — during the flight.
Since then, I've made it a habit to offline any cloud-based files before leaving home, so that even if I’m offline in the air, I can still make some progress.
The same strategy applies to power. Most non-regional aircraft these days have USB and power ports, even in the economy cabin. If your plane has over 100 seats on it, you’re more likely than not to find a power port. However, just because a port is there doesn’t mean it will be operational.
I’ve been put in a bind several times by boarding a plane with low charge on my phone and laptop, assuming that I’d use the flight to recharge — only to find that the power at my seat wasn’t working.
Now, I set a day-prior reminder to charge my phone, laptop, and headphones to 100% before the flight. It's also a good idea to travel with a portable power bank so you have a backup plan if you run out of juice mid-flight.
These two small actions can make a big difference in your productivity and stress levels if you’re planning to work while flying.
