American Airlines chooses AirCell for in-flight WiFi

It seems like everyone is hopping on the in-flight WiFi bandwagon these days, with American Airlines only the latest to offer the desirable service, joining the likes of Lufthansa, Qantas, and others. For its system, American Airlines is relying on the expertise of AirCell, which is promising to get things up and running on at least some flights sometime next year. Initially, the in-flight WiFi will only be offered on American Airlines' fleet of Boeing 767-200 aircraft, which primarily fly transcontinental routes. From the looks of it, however, the service won't be a freebie, with American Airlines saying it'll announce the cost of the service at the time it's rolled out.

[brian welch @ Aug 1st 2007 4:14PM]

How 'bout instead of wifi they simply move the seats back to where they were a couple years ago. I can't even *fit* my freaking knees behind the seat anymore without the wire-rimmed pocket jabbing into my joints. And I love it when the jackhole in front of me decides he needs to slam the seat back down in full recline.

[Rob @ Aug 1st 2007 4:15PM]

Is on-flight wi-fi as expensive as making phone calls from the plane. Unless you have that mega-million dollars deal to keep track of during your flight, I can't see people using it just to bs around.

If it turns out to be cheaper than using their phones, then maybe people will wise up and get one of those Skype phones and chat away.

[--Ed @ Aug 1st 2007 4:36PM]

Even though they will allow wi-fi which is good they will probably disable the use of VOIP like Skype and others. At least I hope they do!

[Jeff @ Aug 1st 2007 4:46PM]

"How 'bout instead of wifi they simply move the seats back to where they were a couple years ago."

Seat pitch on domestic planes hasn't changed much in the last 20 years. It's anywhere from 31-34". Americans have just gotten bigger, including taller.

JetBlue has the best domestic seat pitch at 34", and 36" in the front of the plane.

[Jeff @ Aug 1st 2007 4:47PM]

Whoops, scratch that - JetBlue is 32" and 34". 34" is still the best in domestic coach.

[Ray Delano @ Aug 1st 2007 4:52PM]

jeez. now i have to fight now for elbow room with some laptop jockey more than usual.

[SHOpkins @ Aug 1st 2007 4:58PM]

It's odd that they're starting with transcontinental and not international... seems that their B767-300ER and and B777-200ER fleet would be first, as this is their international fleet. It may have to do with the inability for any in-flight data service, other than the no-defunct Conexion by Boeing, to make in-flight data work over large bodies of water.

[Ralph @ Aug 1st 2007 5:05PM]

Hmmm... I'm not sure I'm looking forward to the prospect of having to endure listening to multiple people having VOIP conversations with their friends! I've always enjoyed the relative unpluggedness of flights where you can actually read a book, take a nap or catch up on work. It's one of the few times when one can actually think! I vote NO for Wi-Fi on planes!

[ethana2 @ Aug 1st 2007 10:26PM]

You need noise canceling headphones.

The part that pisses me off most is people with their "courtesy lights" on 'cause they're reading their books while I'm trying to take a nap!

And I mean, what else is there to do? It's not like I have a WiFi connection.

[OddManOut @ Aug 1st 2007 6:27PM]

"..slam the seat back down in full recline."

I always have wondered what drives people to do that. It's not like the spring is that hard to overcome. I usually at least take a cursory glance behind to make sure the person behind doesn't have a drink or laptop out where it might get knocked over / damaged before I recline the seat.

"...I can't see people using it just to bs around."

I can't believe people (without special medical needs) pay 5x to 10x what I pay in Economy for a first class ticket. What's it for ? Space ? You could buy 3 economy tickets and have plenty of room to strech, a window, unfettered isle access, standard meal+kosher meal+vegetarian meal at each serving, and total control of the light and ventilation in your area, and yet people opt for 1st instead. Compared to that I don't see how an extra ~$30 on top of $500 - $1000 to surf the web, check email and chat for 10+ hours seems all that implausible.

[ethana2 @ Aug 1st 2007 10:32PM]

You may when your dad has delayed your flight for a month looking for the cheapest possible plane fare and you're basically expected to compensate for the price of the flight with manual labor, with, say, no money on you and no bank accounts of your own.

For some, maybe. I can just imagine myself on that plane after getting a job.

Hey, dude- I payed for this, the password is w3w4n7y0urm0n33. I think they're jerks, so pass it on. What's to stop me? I do it with the MaFIAA and M$ all the time. Only that's more like "Hey, did you know about GNU and creative commons stuff? Yeah I use it, it's great!".

As usual, I extend my offer to anyone who wants to switch to Open Source Software such as Linux. I want to help you. If there's anything I can do, email me. [e-mail]

[ethana2 @ Aug 1st 2007 7:31PM]

Yeah really. Lump it with the ticket, and no one will notice. Everyone will appreciate being able to avoid the excruciating boredom. And that direct TV? That's crap. I wasn't raised watching tv, I was raised online. Inferior media like that is useless to me.

I flew alone for the first time yesterday. What, you think my dad gave me his credit card? Nope. Even if he had, I wouldn't have bought it.
Whenever I run into a pay-per view situation, I get too pissed off at the MPAA to spend any money.

Besides, everyone knows you don't buy stuff within a mile of the airport if you value your cash. Not that they take cash in flight...

[Jimmy @ Aug 2nd 2007 9:07AM]

First of all, this type if service is designed for business class passengers and the well-healed pleasure passenger. My company pays for business class air travel, so I'm pretty excited about the prospect of in-flight productivity like this.

To correct Engadget's post, Luthansa did not offer in-flight wifi on my recent trip over the pond to India. Their stewardesses claimed that Luthansa's contract for the service had expired and that the airline was examining other options. I found that to be pretty telling. Obviously, there was something lacking with their first choice of provider.

[Dan S. @ Aug 2nd 2007 1:21PM]

@ethana2:
What kind of anarcho-syndicalist commune are you part of and how can I avoid you and your brethren in the future?

I'm guessing you're 12 and very excited that you got be an UNM and got doted on by lots of pretty stewardesses. Too bad you're too young to ever experience the thrill of being allowed in the cockpit and getting a set of chintzy plastic pilot wings.

@Jimmy:
Lufthansa announced, two days ago, that it was resuming in-flight 802.11 networking later this year.

The previous provider was Boeing, which created and marketed "Connexion," an in-flight WiFi service that was fed by dedicated satellite connection for data. The service was a flat-fee for each flight, which the passenger could purchase by attempting a connection in the cabin.

IIRC, Boeing abruptly ceased Connexion in December 2006, due to an extremely poor rate of return on its investment. The major hurdles being that the cost of maintaining the system was high, as were the costs of installing the devices and wired networks on the aircraft (both monetary and weight costs), as well as the FAA limitations that prohibit 802.11 radio use until the aircraft has cleared 10,000 ft AGL and has been handed off from the departure tower to a regional FAA center. (The ALPA, ATA and FAA are still superstitious about "malfunctions" caused by the use of any and all electronics in the cabin during climb-out and descent.

[RichB @ Nov 19th 2007 4:26PM]

There are those times when my clients need to get "paying work" to me and I have a flight that intrudes on the critical time. Being able to send and receive in flight could make me some money, even if I have to pay $50 (let's say) for it, billable to my client. Sounds like a useful thing.

[docsharp01 @ Mar 30th 2008 1:29AM]

Excellent comments about WiFi on American Airlines.
http://www.1-satellite-tv-facts.com