But his company is determined to change that, and the experience of flying, in the very near future.
We're all getting used to paying for things on a plane, from drinks to snacks. One dirty little secret of the airline industry is how much of that cash never gets to where it belongs.
Zankowicz estimates that in-flight shrinkage can run about 30 per cent. Of course, he would say that, since his company sells a system to help airlines manage their onboard cashflow.
Zankowicz says "cash is still king," at least in keeping passengers from dying of thirst or starvation. However, there are signs that will change. As of Aug. 5, Alaska Airlines will no longer accept cash onboard, joining JetBlue, Virgin America, and Frontier.
The Alaska Airlines press release mentions "the convenience of a cashless cabin" but of course, it's mainly for their convenience.
You might think that credit and debit cards are the answer but, aside from the dearth of communication at 10,000 metres, there are those nasty bank and processing charges. In fact, Zankowicz says that if you were allowed to put that $2 bag of cashew nuts directly on your card, the fees could take up to a third of the revenue.
With the GuestLogix system, those onboard purchases are aggregated into a single transaction with each credit card company, processed after the flight.
For a limited time, Alaska will be selling $5 vouchers, so if you're sending your plastic-less child or granny on a flight, they can still eat. But it's clear that in the future, getting onto a plane will become synonymous with getting out the credit card, and not just for the yummy snacks.
You've probably seen the Phoenix-based SkyMall magazine. There's a dog-eared copy in the seat pocket of most U.S. flights. You can buy a radio-controlled plastic mouse for your cat, or a windchill misting fan for your patio.
Zankowicz laughs that "it's a catalogue full of hard-to-find items that are also hard to buy.”
His point is that with no way to make an actual purchase in flight, people take the magazine but soon forget about poor kitty's toy.
That impulse buying is about to be harnessed. Next time you climb onboard, you may be in a real SkyMall. Carriers from American Airlines to RyanAir and Spirit Airlines have installed the GuestLogix system, allowing passengers to buy with a credit card, right from their seats.
RyanAir even offers gambling scratch cards.
Pay two Euros and you might win a car while you're flying. Zankowicz says GuestLogix is talking with the Canadian airlines, and that "Air Canada is completely rethinking their cabin service," but so far, this Canadian firm's customers are non-Canadian.
It seems inevitable that all airlines will get on the in-flight selling bandwagon, especially since GuestLogix doesn't charge up front, just taking a fee for each transaction. With margins on air tickets running around two per cent, who can resist getting into the value chain for products that yield 40 per cent?
And the loot doesn't have to take up space on the plane, or even be physical. GuestLogix has announced a partnership with an arm of the Schubert Organization, the big kahuna in Broadway theatres. Soon, passengers flying into New York will be offered in-flight tickets for hit shows, and Zankowicz says other attractions such as sporting events and theme parks will follow soon.
He also notes that New York isn't the only major theatre market, so if you're itching to see Josh Hartnett star in the London premier of Rain Man, you might be getting your tickets on your flight to Heathrow. Or, you might lower your cultural sights and settle for Spamalot.
Speaking of Monty Python, full onboard internet service has been the Holy Grail for several years now, as planes turn into flying WiFi hotspots. Air Canada tried and abandoned a messy satellite phone email service a few years ago.
Virgin America and JetBlue already have some planes with internet service, and American Airlines is starting to offer AirCell's GoGo Internet on some of its flights. It uses a network of ground-based antennas, and should come to Canada and Mexico at some point.
JetBlue's service is free, if you happen to hit the right plane. American's will cost US$12.95 per long-haul flight, and is presently on 15 aircraft. And yes, the hackers have already found a way to use it to make annoying voice calls from their computers. I could tell you how but then I'd have to kill you, so I'll just say "Twitter" and "Phweet."
Zankowicz predicts that onboard e-commerce will evolve as a kind of "walled garden," where you are channeled to do business through certain vendors. That makes sense, if you want a flight attendant to hand you a printed voucher so you know for sure that you have two on the aisle for that hit show.
But consider this. The International Civil Aviation Organization has announced that paper tickets have now been phased out worldwide. Yes, there's an airline on an island off Africa which doesn't have electricity and has to ship passenger lists to the mainland by boat. But odds are, you will never again see one of those expensive-to-handle red carbon documents again.
If we don't need paper tickets, we probably don't need physical theatre vouchers either. And, like every walled garden, except perhaps the one in China, people are always peeking over the wall to see if there's a better deal.
Full onboard internet will mean full onboard shopping.
Just don't leave your laptop unattended, or your seatmate might rent a Lamborghini while you're in the bathroom.
(Tom Keenan is a professor at the University of Calgary and an expert on technology and its social implications. He can be reached at keenan@businessedge.ca)
