“I Know It When I See It”: Defining Quality in In-Flight Connectivity

Airline executives know passengers judge Wi-Fi quality in simple terms: Did it work for me? Traditional Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Quality of Service (QoS) metrics—bandwidth, latency, coverage—measure network inputs, not passenger outcomes. An SLA can be met while passengers still struggle with slow loads, dropped sessions, or app failures.

QoE (Quality of Experience) fills this gap by assessing the passenger’s actual experience—whether they could browse, stream, message, or join a VPN without issue. Two passengers on the same network can have different experiences depending on device, app, or network contention. Measuring QoE means capturing what really happened for users, not just what the network delivered.

Why the Old Model Fails

• QoS focuses on the link from aircraft to ground.
• SLAs rarely reflect app-level performance.
• Oversaturation (too many users per “parking spot” of bandwidth) can degrade experience despite “meeting SLA.”

Closing the QoS–QoE Gap
Leading airlines are:

1. Collecting user-centric data – Tracking session drops, reconnection attempts, complaints, and usage patterns to reveal hidden issues.
2. Benchmarking across providers – Using industry-standard tools like Viper to measure apples-to-apples QoE scores.

Viper’s Role
Developed with the Seamless Air Alliance, Viper provides a neutral, standards-based framework for:

• Normalized QoE metrics across all aircraft and providers.
• Measuring throughput per user, time-to-connect, drop rates.
• Enabling outcome-focused SLAs (e.g., “95% of users can stream SD video”) instead of just uptime targets.

Beyond Metrics: Managing Expectations
Even the best networks face coverage gaps. Airlines that proactively inform passengers (“Wi-Fi unavailable for 15 minutes mid-flight”) and offer compensation for major outages maintain trust and satisfaction.

The Bottom Line
Passengers judge inflight Wi-Fi by results, not technical promises. Airlines that measure QoE, adopt benchmarking tools like Viper, and redefine SLAs around passenger outcomes will deliver a more consistent, reliable service—restoring confidence that inflight connectivity is something you can count on, not gamble on.