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High-speed LiFi will soon be available on Air France flights
In-flight internet -- if and when an airline offers it -- is often unreliable and slow. Oledcomm wants to take things up a notch by making high-speed LiFi available on Air France and KLM flights. The French tech company will equip a reproduction of a medium-haul plane with LiFiMAX at the International Paris Air Show. Winners of a Ubisoft esports competition have been invited to put LiFiMAX to the test -- a clear sign that this isn't your typical in-flight WiFi.
Air France in-flight calling tests begin: not so great
That Air France in-flight calling trial is now well underway, and it looks like there's still some kinks left to iron out. The New York Times hitched a ride on a recent flight featuring tests of the system, and found that things weren't quite working up to snuff: voice quality was said to be like "talking to a small robot," only six passengers could get a signal at a time, Blackberry email didn't work, and calls placed from the ground to cell phones in the air went straight to voicemail. That's a pretty long list for a system that's been talked about for a couple years now -- let's hope OnAir manages to clear up some of these glitches before angry passengers revolt over not only having to listen to other people's conversations, but also their screaming over bad connections.
Air France launches in-flight calling trial
Not even half a year after Air France enabled passengers on its single OnAir-equipped Airbus A318 to send / receive messages and e-mail, the airline has went live with the second phase of the in-flight experiment. As of this week, guests who find themselves aboard the aforesaid aircraft can make / receive calls on their mobile at 30,000 feet. Reportedly, a dozen simultaneous calls are possible "per picocell network, as well as unlimited text messages and e-mails," and while pricing details weren't disclosed, you can rest assured it won't be a bargain. Nevertheless, the voice aspect of the trial is scheduled to carry on for three months, and we're assuming the results (read: whether annoyed passengers start assaulting chronic yappers) will determine if it gets rolled out to more of the fleet or quietly buried. [Via WiFi Net News]
Air France launches in-flight mobile phone service
Although we'd always assumed that Ryanair would be the first to roll out Airbus' OnAir in-flight calling system, it looks like Air France is going to take the prize -- the airline is now rolling out Mobile On-Air 2.5G cell service on select international flights. Passengers on European-route Airbus A318s can now use their phones to send and receive texts, MMS, and email over the system when the new "no mobiles" light is switched off, and voice calling support will be rolled in the second half of the year-long trial. Phones are used just like on the ground, with a picocell on board the aircraft bouncing signals off a satellite, and billing is handled by customer's regular carrier, with rates "comparable" to regular international calling. All this, of course, while FAA twiddles its thumbs for the "foreseeable future." Oh well -- at least we've got in-flight WiFi to tide us over.[Via The Unwired]
KLM and Air France deny iPod integration plans
Yeah sure, they may get around to it eventually, but according to Reuters today, both KLM and Air France deny any firm plans to provide iPod integration into their air fleet. A KLM spokesman stated that 'there have been "informal contacts" between Apple and the airline..."We have no idea if this is technically feasible, if it's financially viable, or it customers want it," he said. "At this moment, we have absolutely no intention of introducing it on board"'.
