in-flight wifi
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American Airlines goes live with in-flight WiFi service
At long last, "you are now free to surf the intarwebz while flying." Okay, so maybe it has been possible in the past, but American Airlines is taking a huge leap forward in the US market today by giving passengers aboard long-haul Boeing 767-200 flights the option to hop online during the trip. The GoGo service, which is being provided by Aircell, will charge customers $12.95 for access to the world wide web, though Reuters points out that VoIP calling is "not available." Delta, US Airways, et al. -- time to get with the program.[Via Dallas News, thanks Travis]
American Airlines rolling out in-flight WiFi to 15 more jets
American Airlines ran a "dress rehearsal" of its AirCell-powered in-fight WiFi service last month, and it looks like it was a success -- the airline is set to expand the trial to some 15 jets over the coming weeks, with tests expected to last six months. The tests are apparently more to evaluate the speed and reliability of the wireless connection, rather than to study the impact on the plane's avionics, so it looks like this is finally happening -- we'd recommend against wearing your WiFi-detector shirts through security, however.[Via Wired]
American Airlines to test in-flight WiFi tomorrow
You heard right, folks. American Airlines is planning to open up the world wide web to passengers on board an unspecified round-trip flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles. The Gogo service, provided via Aircell, will be free for patrons tomorrow, but will eventually run users $12.95 for flights greater than three hours and $9.95 for trips under said threshold. We're also told that more trials are expected to get going on flights between New York and San Francisco and New York and Miami, though no time frame is given for when the service would escape the beta stage and hit mass implementation. Additionally, the Gogo system is supposed to "prioritize the flow of data so that passengers downloading movies or large documents won't prevent other passengers from getting their email," so don't expect to use that excuse for not sending in those Q2 close reports.[Via Jaunted]
Video: Mossberg reviews, likes Aircell's Gogo in-flight WiFi
His preeminence, oh lordship, oh liege, (uh hem) Walt Mossberg, just returned from a US test flight on a small business jet equipped with Aircell's new Gogo WiFi service. He tested multiple devices including Dell and Apple laptops, a Blackberry, iPhone, and WinMo-based cell and found them to all perform flawlessly, albeit, at speeds ranging from 266Kbps to about 1.4Mbps. Typical speeds clocked in at 500Kbps to 600Kbps -- upload speeds were a more modest 250Kbps to 300Kbps. Aircell promises a similar experience on large commercial planes with multiple connected devices. These speeds were good enough for Walt to surf the Web and check email (both prioritized on Gogo's network) as he would in the office but not quite fast enough to deliver smooth video streaming. Fortunately, (or unfortunately depending upon your opinion) the service blocks all VoIP services like Skype. Gogo WiFi will cost $12.95 for flights of three hours or longer, and $9.95 for shorter trips -- free for limited access to AA's website, Frommer's online travel guides, and select articles from The Wall Street Journal. It's scheduled to launch next month on American Airline flights between New York and LA, San Francisco, and Miami -- it will then head to Virgin America and other airlines if things go well. See Walt's head talk from the bowels of embedded video after the break.
JetBlue's LiveTV unit to snatch up Verizon's Airfone network
Nary a week after JetBlue expanded its in-flight internet services on BetaBlue comes news that the airline's LiveTV unit will be picking up Verizon's Airfone network. As you can glean, the purchase is being made in order to further "develop in-flight email and internet services," and while no purchase price was disclosed by either outfit, we are told that LiveTV will receive "100 air-to-ground US communications towers and Airfone's corporate and government aviation clients on January 1st." That's nice and all, but can't we get something out of this sooner?
JetBlue expands in-flight connectivity options on BetaBlue aircraft
During our time on JetBlue's BetaBlue aircraft, we came away mildly impressed with what was available. Thankfully, the airline isn't resting on its laurels, and has today announced expanded services for those lucky enough to secure a seat on the connected Airbus A320. By utilizing LiveTV's Kiteline platform, patrons can now check their Gmail, AOL Mail, Hotmail and Windows Live Mail from the comfort of their seat, and just in case you get bored with that, a "customized in-flight version of Amazon.com" will also be accessible. Yeah, we're talking really minor updates here, but at least the whole gamut of what's available is still totally free. Gratis and airlines just don't go together these days, so it's certainly a welcome change.[Via Jaunted]
Continental rolling out DirecTV, IM, and email to 225 planes
In another mostly positive step for in-flight entertainment options, Continental Airlines will be rolling out DirecTV along with email and IM service on 225 of its planes starting next January -- the majority of its domestic fleet, according to Reuters -- although watching some tube will reportedly cost economy passengers six bucks-a-pop. Continental is teaming up with LiveTV on the venture, a subsidiary of JetBlue which also provides that airline with DirecTV, XM, and, more recently, limited Yahoo email and IM services courtesy of its 800MHz bandwidth acquisition. LiveTV will both provide and install a majority of the in-plane hardware in exchange for most of the revenue from economy section TV viewers; the 36 DirecTV channels will be free to first class passengers, and anyone with compatible devices and a Yahoo account can connect to the flying hotspots.[Via Reuters]
Southwest Airlines to test in-flight WiFi via satellite
It's taken a while, but it looks like Southwest Airlines is the latest (and no doubt far from the last) to jump on the in-flight WiFi bandwagon although, as with most, it's still quite a ways from rolling out the service across the board. Still, according to the airline, at least four of its planes will be outfitted with the desirable service by this summer as part of the initial testing, with each of those relying on satellite internet service provided by the folks at Row 44 (last seen hooking up Alaska Air with some in-flight WiFi of their own). No word if the service will be free or not, but the company promises it'll "set the standard for excellence in inflight connectivity," which would be somewhat hard to do if they're charging you through the nose for it.[Thanks, Dominic]
Alaska Air hoping to add in-flight WiFi in 2008
Joining Shenzhen Airlines, Qantas, and a whole host of others, Alaska Air is the newest airline to promise us in-flight WiFi when coming onboard. Reportedly, the firm "will test a system from Row 44, a provider of broadband communication for airlines, on a Boeing 737 in spring 2008," and if all goes well, it will then equip its 114-aircraft fleet with the goods. Notably, Alaska Air also stated that it had been working with Row 44 "for two years to bring in-flight broadband to market," so here's to hoping that all that hard work pays off early next year.
AirCell set to hook up Virgin America with in-flight broadband
Fresh from inking a deal with American Airlines, relative newcomer AirCell is now set to bring its in-flight internet knowhow to Virgin America, with the pair officially announcing the partnership today. In addition to letting passengers use their own personal WiFi-equipped devices on flights, the service will also be used to provide broadband internet to Virgin's RED in-flight entertainment system, which we recently got to check out first hand. Just don't expect to be able to do that right away, with the service only "anticipated" to roll out across Virgin's entire fleet "sometime in 2008."
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.
