Connexion by Boeing to be free until Dec. 31
By Cyrus Farivar 
posted October 13th 2006 11:45PM
posted October 13th 2006 11:45PM
We'd really love to have affordable, ubiquitous internet access while airborne. Sadly, with the announcement two months ago of the unplugging of Connexion by Boeing by the end of the year, that day seems farther and farther away. Sure, ASiQ's (or Panasonic's) service may be coming up in the future, but we'd like to see something a little more immediate and a little less expensive. Luckily for us, Boeing will be making the last two and a half months of its service available for free -- so we'd like to tip our hats to our Seattle and Chicago-based friends for having such a classy exit strategy.[Via MobileRead]
Ya know, for a moment there, I thought we were all being offered free airline travel.
I never knew I could pack my underwear so quickly…
They've been doing this actually for at least the last few weeks. I flew to Japan at the beginning of the month and just came back this week and it was free both times.
A nice service; too bad it's being cancelled. It's *really* slow, and conks out every once in a while, but it's still better than nothing. And for free, I definitely can't complain. I have no idea what they used to charge for this, though, so it may just not have been worth it. I'd pay like $10 per flight or so for it, though, if it was sticking around.
The current prices are $9.99 for one hour of access, $14.95 for two hours of access, $17.95 for 3 hours of access and $26.95 for flat-rate access. Payment options are varied. The service can be paid with major credit cards, mobile phone, hotspot accounts and even frequent flyer miles.
"The current prices"
Well, the *current* price is zero. But thanks for the info on the previous pricing scheme. Too expensive, IMO, for what it was.
Connexion service is free to the end of the year. You will be asked for a credit card, but there will be no charges. Some planes still have the old login page, but no one will be charged.
Connexion was a complete technical success, it was only the business side that failed. The service works well almost all of the time, except when the weather is bad or there are some kind of technical glitches. Uptime and performance are really VERY good.
Enjoy the service for the last few months. It is great. Too bad Boeing management can't figure out how to manage a service offering.
Being very close to people in conneXion I'm slightly biased; but afaik it's less Boeing management's fault; and more that airlines pretty much backed out as customers. Air Force One still gets to keep it though (apparently Bush gets angry if it's not working), as well as a bunch of military planes, so there is still a skeleton crew running it (even after the new year).
OK, It's been clear that this was going to fail for at least two years. The only thing we didn't know was a) when would Boeing pull the plug and b) was there an angle we hadn't seen that Boeing was wise to?
I've been saying it didn't make commercial sense for the last 3 years. But don't blame the airlines. Blame Boeing for failing to design a system that could be relevant in North American market (the best market in the world). The CBB system was MUCH too BIG and HEAVY to be carried commercially on B737, 757 and A320 class aircraft, which are the dominant aircraft for intra-continent flights. That killed CBB stone dead, right out of the chute. The radome is a foot tall, four feet wide and getting on for nine feet long. weight is around 700-800 pounds, depending on the plane type. What is needed is a sub-150 pound solution, like a smaller version of the LiveTV antenna installation, with a simple WiFi cabin. It is coming, and it will be economically sustainable. Oh, and your cellphones and SMS and Blackberry will all work just like on the ground.