Comment by tim--
2 days ago
Honestly, push notifications from a news site arguably is one of the few sites that I see having a reason to send push notifications.
Communication platforms; messaging apps (Slack, Discord etc); email sites (gmail and co.) also make sense. Financial platforms (banks, Stripe etc)
Once you start getting out of these two categories, then yeah, it gets silly. No way should an airline website even be allowed to ask to send push notifications.
Google does have a way for Chrome users to not show the notification window (https://yespo.io/blog/google-chrome-will-now-block-abusive-b...) by default (https://support.google.com/webtools/answer/9799829?hl=en) but I really wish that this was flipped, so that Google would first need to approve sites to use notifications, similar to the Public Suffix List.
If I trusted airlines to only send me notifications about gate changes, failed payments, delayed flights, maaaybe low prices on route-date combinations I previously expressed interest in, I'd give them notification permissions. I definitely don't trust them to do that, though.
See also: Uber and Uber Eats.
It seems that companies like this can't help but abuse the permissions I grant them, so the result is that they don't get any permissions at all.
See, that's just the point. You see a need for that. I'd never enable push notifications from a news site, I don't need to know NOW that some pupil shot 17 teachers and pupils in the elementary school around the corner. There is nothing I could do anyway. I'm extremely unlikely to enable notifications from async messaging because, you know, they are async. If it's urgent, come over to my desk or use your phone to call me.
Financial data or travel info is something I'm actively watching, when I travel, just like car traffic. Otherwise, why would I need to know? That's a good question to ask anyway anytime you come across an inbox. I have been in management really long now and designing your information flow strategically is crucial to being effective.
> No way should an airline website even be allowed to ask to send push notifications.
Your flight is delayed/now boarding/etc?
The native apps for my phone aren't really reliable enough at letting me know about delays or gate changes, I don't expect a web push notification to be any better at something that's already untrustworthy, especially on a system that lacks a cellular modem to stay online all the time. Even if they did work perfectly and could be trusted to serve that purpose, no company would only send status updates about your flight in the long term, they're unable to restrain themselves and will view it as an advertising avenue just like they do with phone apps.
My guess is it would be just as (un)reliable as an app.
Many airlines now more or less force you to install their bespoke apps, which could have just as well been websites, just to board their planes. I'm less than happy to install them.
I'm rarely at a computer in the airport without my phone
I would prefer to know about a delayed flight before I get to the airport.
Your phone needs a web browser or an app. An app for every airline you ever use? You already have a web browser.
They could SMS but its more expensive to send, often even more so for customers on roaming to receive.
Nothing else is universal.
I think there are much better possible solutions. An open notification standard or reasonable pricing of bulk sending SMS would do it.
7 replies →
Do you really need a reminder that the flight is boarding?
You do if your goal is to chill out in the lounge until that point.