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Cisco Expects Online Meetings on Planes in Two Years

Now that US airline carriers are starting to offer high speed internet access during flights, it seems that it won’t be long before video conferencing and online PowerPoint presentations are hosted from 30,000 feet above the earth, effectively ending the last refuge from meetings for business travelers.

During a keynote question-and-answer session at the Gartner Inc. conference, Cisco CEO, John Chambers continued to make the argument that videoconferencing can significantly reduce corporate travel. He claimed that Cisco has cut its own travel by 30%, thereby saving his company $150 million, through the use of its telepresence technology, a high definition video conferencing solution now offered by a host of vendors.

Cisco CEO, John Chambers:

Well, the answer is, you are probably going to [have video conferencing on airplanes].

He went on to say that his company predicts that the arrival of high speed internet services and other types of internet connections on planes will enable travelers to hook up devices to the web, and potentially online meetings within the next 18 months or so.

While I understand that most business travelers would like to stay connected throughout their flight, and be able to join in on meetings that they might have otherwise missed while they were airborne, the last thing that I personally want to see is everyone having video conversations on their laptop, gabbing away throughout the flight. I like to enjoy a book, or read the newspaper while I fly, and use the time to take a break from the hustle of daily life. I think an airplane cabin is one location that should stay videoconferencing-free.