InFlightWifi
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JetBlue's Fly-Fi broadband is now free on all flights
JetBlue has finally made good on that promise to provide free WiFi on every flight. The airline announced today that every jet in its fleet is now equipped with JetBlue's Fly-Fi broadband, offering "gate-to-gate" high speed internet you can use even before the flight reaches cruising altitude.
You might be warned if your next flight allows WiFi calling
Between screaming babies, flatulent passengers and that guy ahead of you who insists on leaning all the way back, air travel can be pretty miserable. And that's before you think about the possibility of someone loudly making a call over WiFi during your flight. The Department of Transportation wants to address that last bit, though.
American Airlines drops its lawsuit against Gogo
Last week, American Airlines filed a lawsuit against GoGo to get out of its contract with the in-flight internet provider. The airline found "materially" better service with a competing company, a situation that would force Gogo to provide a new proposal that American could ultimately reject if it found a better deal or service elsewhere. It looks like American and Gogo have found better ground, however -- Gogo just announced that American dismissed its lawsuit. It's not too surprising, as Gogo said last week it was in the process of preparing a competing proposal to match what American had found with rival provider ViaSat.
Gogo's next generation in-flight WiFi launches next year
Gogo's new 2Ku in-flight WiFi might not be as fast as your home internet connection, but it gets the job done -- and a lot faster than current in-flight connectivity. But how much will it cost? When will consumers get to use it? And of course, just how secure is the satellite internet service? For the answers to those questions and more, I sat down at a brief roundtable interview with CEO Michael Small and Vice President of Product Management Blane Boynton at the company's Chicago headquarters.
We pushed the in-flight WiFi of the future to its limit
It shouldn't have worked, but I streamed an episode of Last Week Tonight, a Twitch broadcast of Fallout 4, the premiere episode of Aziz Ansari's Master of None and Meow the Jewels all at once, all on airplane WiFi. In-flight WiFi giant Gogo demoed its next-gen version of mile-high connectivity, 2Ku, above the overcast November skies of Gary, Indiana, bragging 98 percent coverage around the world (the poles don't play nicely with airborne internet) at peak speeds of 70 Mbps. The reality is transfers much slower than that on a plane with roughly 25 journalists, business folks and Gogo staff all doing the same as me: trying to break the internet for about an hour.
Netflix streams on airplanes too, starting with Virgin America
One problem with Netflix has always been that it doesn't work when you're on a plane. Starting this month however, the service's entire catalog will be available for Virgin America flights on new Airbus A320 airplanes. Virgin claimed its new ViaSat-powered WiFi is strong enough to stream video, and bringing the bandwidth-hungry Netflix aboard is certainly one way to prove it. By contrast, Amazon Prime just started letting customers store movies and TV shows so they can watch them offline anywhere. So far, Netflix has resisted an offline option, and Global Head of Business Development Bill Holmes says it's all about delivering service that "takes advantage of the expansion of WiFi." The upgraded system is rolling out to about one aircraft a month through June 2016, and will be available for free until March 2nd. Even if you don't have a Netflix account, you can sign up for a free trial, or just watch episodes from a few favorites like House of Cards or Orange is the New Black on the new Android-based entertainment systems.
Why your brand-new plane doesn't have a seat-back TV
Earlier this year, I boarded a United flight from Newark to San Diego. After passing the first few rows, a young boy turned to his mother and asked, "Why aren't there any TVs?" "It's probably an older plane," she responded -- but that couldn't be further from the truth. The aircraft, a 737-900 with Boeing's Sky Interior (a Dreamliner-esque recessed ceiling lit with blue LEDs), had only been flying for a few weeks. It looked new, and it even had that "new plane smell" most passengers would only associate with a factory-fresh auto. But despite the plane's clean and bright appearance, the family only noticed the glaring absence of seat-back screens. To them, our 737 might as well have rolled off the assembly line in 1984.
Surfing with GTO, the very promising future of Gogo in-flight WiFi
Let's face it: with few exceptions, in-flight WiFi still sucks. ViaSat's solution available on a few United and JetBlue planes is a step in the right direction, but even that product is inconsistent at times, if you're even lucky enough to end up on an equipped flight. The vast majority of in-flight internet is supplied by Gogo, utilizing an air-to-ground infrastructure that's similar to the cell phone networks that we all love to hate. But the company's next-generation solution, called GTO (Ground to Orbit), represents a tremendous improvement across the board.
In-flight WiFi to be available across Europe by 2017
In-flight internet is readily available across the US, but that type of connectivity is almost unheard of in Europe. Regulators are coming 'round to the idea, and seeing an untapped opportunity, Inmarsat has announced its grand plan to create an EU-wide network for getting air travelers online. The satellite company is partnering with 4G providers to build an air-to-ground network that'll handle the data traffic, in the same way Gogo (and soon AT&T) provides in-flight WiFi in the US. A newly built satellite called Europasat will also provide support from above, making sure the connection stays constant as a plane pairs with different cell towers along its path.
AT&T will try to make in-flight internet worth a damn in 2015
There's still something a little magical about poking around on the internet while hurtling through the atmosphere in a metal tube at a few hundred miles an hour, but it's not quite as good as it could be. At least, that's the stance AT&T has taken -- it just announced that it's building a speedy in-flight data service "based on global 4G LTE standards" that could go live as soon as late 2015. Just to be clear, here's what this announcement doesn't mean: your phone isn't going to tap directly into AT&T's LTE network from 35,000 feet. No, what AT&T is doing here is building an air-to-ground network (sort of like the one Gogo has in place) that'll let airlines provide faster airborne WiFi to passengers and potentially help aircraft transmit more real-time data back down to the ground. That latter bit sounds significantly less exciting if all you want is to down your complimentary tomato juice and watch some Netflix, but there's no denying that keeping in touch with aircraft is a science that could use some (fine, maybe a lot of) improvement.
A traveler's guide to in-flight WiFi
You're on a nice, long domestic flight. In coach. There's a screaming baby two rows up; the pages of the in-flight magazine are stuck together with someone else's chewing gum; and the 9-inch overhead CRT is showing a 2-year-old episode of New Girl that you've already seen a half-dozen times -- without sound, because you always end up in the seat with a broken headphone jack. Oh, and you have five hours left to go to LAX. If you play your cards right (and pack some noise-canceling headphones), your next cross-country haul could be a whole lot more pleasant, thanks to in-flight WiFi. Nearly all of the major US airlines now offer WiFi in the sky. Thousands of passengers flying above North America are online right now, watching adorable kittens meow on YouTube, reading up on their destinations or researching a new device right here on Engadget. But while some carriers offer service on many of their planes, few have it available fleet-wide, making it difficult to plan your travel around connectivity. So, which airlines offer the best service and how can you sort what you'll have on board? Join us here as we explore the turbulent world of WiFi at 30,000 feet.
El Al teams up with ViaSat for speedy in-flight WiFi on flights to Europe
ViaSat's not yet a household name here in the US, but the company's super-fast WiFi is well on its way, due in no small part to successful launches on JetBlue and United. Now, the satellite provider is set to bring its Exede in-flight internet to El Al passengers, operating on several 737s between Tel Aviv and cities in Europe. Unlike the North American service, which connects to ViaSat-1, this European counterpart will hook up with Eutelsat's Ka-Sat, with ViaSat's terminals and antennas handling the connection on each plane. El Al plans to launch the Ka-band service within the next year.
United activates ViaSat's blazing-fast satellite WiFi on select 737s
JetBlue's Fly-Fi satellite internet has been online since November, but while a handful of United's 737s have been equipped with the necessary components to launch its own version of the service for the same period of time, that legacy carrier has kept passengers in the dark. Until this week. According to travel blogger Wandering Aramean, United has since flipped the switch on its latest WiFi effort. But unlike the Gogo available on its transcontinental 757s and the Panasonic satellite-based service aboard select A319, A320 and 747 aircraft, this latest version connects to the ultra-fast ViaSat-1 satellite, letting you surf at 30,000 feet with speeds you'd normally only find on the ground. We tested the same connection aboard a JetBlue A320 in November, and unlike United's existing connectivity options, which are often sluggish and spotty, this service flies. Unfortunately it's not clear where to find the Ka-band-equipped aircraft today, but if you're on a United 737 with DirecTV, there's a small chance it'll also have ViaSat satellite WiFi onboard. We're also not sure of pricing -- JetBlue is charging an introductory rate of $9 per hour for faster service, with basic connectivity available for free for the next few months, but United has yet to confirm its own fee structure. Based on the airline's current satellite WiFi pricing, we'd expect the new service to run between $10 and $15, depending on the length of your flight. We're of course eager to get onboard, so if you happen upon a United 737 with super-fast internet, please mark the tail number and give us a holler.
JetBlue fills a plane with reporters for the ultimate Fly-Fi satellite internet test
JetBlue's been quoting some pretty ambitious figures for its new ViaSat-powered in-flight WiFi, and during our test flight last month, the Ka-band satellite service seemed to be up to the task. The promise? A claimed 12 Mbps internet at every seat on the plane; enough to stream HD video, download new apps and conduct your online business just as quickly as you would on the ground. That performance pledge generally assumes that only a handful of passengers will be watching Netflix films and YouTube clips -- however, that condition went right out the boarding door when the airline filled a few dozen A320 seats with journalists eager to push the service to its limits on today's official launch flight. It was a charter plane to nowhere -- a 90-minute journey from New York's JFK airport to New York's JFK airport -- but for this group of passengers, it was the ultimate adventure.
Southwest Airlines now allows gadget use during takeoff and touchdown, offers WiFi that works gate to gate
Soon, Delta and JetBlue will have the right to say they've adopted the FAA's new electronics policy before it was cool. Still, not everyone's just following suit -- the latest carrier to allow passengers to use mobile devices during takeoff and landing, Southwest, says it's adding something extra. According to the company, it's the only US airline offering gate-to-gate WiFi that keeps you connected the whole flight, including stops and transfers. That's made possible by the company's satellite-based WiFi technology, which (unlike the Gogo tech that many rival airlines use) works even if a plane isn't 10,000 feet up in the air. You know what's even better, though? Southwest isn't jacking up the price for the gate-to-gate privileges: it'll still cost the same $8 per device the airline currently charges. [Image credit: Michael Dorausch, Flickr]
Gogo Vision teams up with Magnolia Pictures to offer films in-flight before theatrical release
High speed web browsing and airborne streaming make Gogo an essential element of any tech obsessed traveler's itinerary, but the company thinks it can offer a little more. Today the firm announced a deal with Magnolia Pictures that will put select films on its Gogo Vision VOD service before they hit theaters. Starting next month, passengers will be able to rent The Last Days On Mars and Best Man Down for the usual $3.99 fee, the former of which will be available a full month ahead of its theatrical release. While these inaugural films probably won't break any box office records, the influx of fresh, early access content will certainly be a boon for fliers who forgot to bring a book. So, flying anywhere next month? Skip past the break for a peek at your November viewing options.
JetBlue and ViaSat prepare to launch 12 Mbps WiFi at 36,000 feet, a LiveTV tour
It's a small miracle that you can open up your laptop and surf the web while soaring through the air in a metal tube some seven miles above the ground, but the experience is inconsistent, and when it works, the connection is often frustratingly sluggish. That's about to change. Once focused on undercutting the competition, JetBlue is now best known for its in-flight product: complimentary snacks, 36 channels of free DirecTV and friendly flight attendants. This year, the airline is undergoing a service alteration of sorts. The traditionally all-coach carrier will soon cater to business travelers with a bed-equipped premium cabin, and by the end of next year, all customers will be able to surf the web from 36,000 feet with speeds that rival (or often exceed) what we're used to on the ground. That new service, powered by ViaSat, is called Fly-Fi, and it's hitting the skies this November. We spent a day with JetBlue's subsidiary, LiveTV, the company responsible for providing in-flight entertainment (IFE) on more than 600 aircraft, including 188 JetBlue planes and some 200 United 737s. If you've watched DirecTV while flying either of those airlines, it's LiveTV that put it there, and soon, the Florida-based firm will be responsible for getting you online, too. Fly-Fi, and its to-be-named United equivalent, will deliver up to 12 Mbps of data -- not to the aircraft, but to each and every passenger on board. Join us aboard JetBlue's first Fly-Fi-equipped Airbus A320 after the break.
JetBlue scores FAA approval for Fly-Fi, may launch satellite WiFi next month
JetBlue's next-generation WiFi service, powered by ViaSat's super-speedy Ka-band satellite, is officially on track to launch this October. The FAA just issued a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the airline's Airbus A320, enabling a fleet-wide installation that's set to begin immediately. In a statement, Chief Commercial Officer Robin Hayes said that several aircraft will be wired by the end of this year, with many A320s scheduled to come online throughout 2014. The rollout will then continue with JetBlue's smaller Embraer 190, currently used on select regional routes. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
JetBlue begins Fly-Fi flight testing, on track for Q3 launch
Adding satellite WiFi to an airplane isn't as simple as mounting an antenna up top and flipping the switch on a router -- even installing a cockpit printer requires FAA approval, so as you can expect, the Federal Aviation Administration won't check off on major modifications without some thorough testing. JetBlue's new Fly-Fi service is well on its way to getting a formal green light, though, and is expected to launch before Q3 is through. This week, the carrier is running through a variety of flight tests with one of its Airbus A320s, including maneuvering the plane with some pretty unusual weight loads, such as the rear center of gravity positioning you can see demonstrated above. After that's complete, it's time to wait for FAA certification before moving onto performance testing, and if all goes well, passengers should expect to hook up to ViaSat-1 from 30,000 feet in mere months. Once Fly-Fi goes online, it'll be by far the fastest commercial in-flight WiFi option -- we really can't wait!
Visualized: JetBlue and ViaSat test Fly-Fi in-flight WiFi... from the ground
Gogo's ground-to-air transmitters typically mandate evaluating service while jetting around the country above 10,000 feet. Sure, you don't need to waste fuel flying around an empty airliner, but even the company's small jet can burn through quite a bit of cash. ViaSat, on the other hand, can do much of its service testing on the ground, using that fairly ordinary Ford van pictured just above. The reason, of course, relates to the location of the company's transmitter -- namely, the ViaSat-1 satellite, positioned some 22,000 miles above the ground. In the air, planes will actually be nearer to the orbiting device, rather than farther away, and assuming a line-of-sight link from the road, the truck can work out kinks at a fraction of the cost. That white dome atop the van, which is similar to the device that'll soon be mounted on JetBlue's fleet, maintains a constant connection by rotating instantly as the van moves -- if the vehicle's heading changes, the antenna array will turn, too, so it's always pointed directly at the sat in the sky. You may have seen ViaSat's van driving down Southern California's freeways, but the rig has just arrived in Orlando, for some additional testing a few degrees away from the company's Carlsbad home. Assuming all goes well here, you'll be shooting around the web courtesy of Fly-Fi in no time at all.
