WiFi on airplanes will do further damage to the print industry

I have flown jets with WiFi before. Lufthansa used to have a great WiFi service that Boeing managed, but with poor timing, they disconnected the service just as WiFi became popular. But in the U.S., WiFi on airplanes is back. I am now on a Delta flight JFK – Miami and find myself blogging at 30,000 ft. I love it. But for my friends in old media, WiFi on planes may become the straw that broke the camel’s back. Airplanes, precisely because they had no connection, were the last place where print publications thrived. Indeed, just today, before boarding, and not knowing that there was WiFi on the plane, I spent $45 dollars including over $7 just for the Economist. But with WiFi at $10 per flight, I will just not buy magazines and papers anymore. Nor will millions of people. Print is heavy, bad for the planet, and with tablets becoming commonplace few will continue to consume it.