By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com
August 2, 2007
WiFi in the sky is coming to an air plane near you.
Thats the word from carriers hoping to keep ahead of competitors by keeping passengers connected while traveling. They include:
• American Airlines For a yet-to-be-decided fee, passengers on coast-to-coast flights next year will have access to a broadband internet service that works with laptops and other portable electronic devices.
• Southwest Like American, it will start testing internet availability in 2008.
• JetBlue In addition to 36 channels of free DirecTV and more than 100 stations of XM Satellite Radio, this discounter expects to offer e.mail capability next year.
• Qantas Has set an August 2008 target date for the introduction of its internet service.
• Lufthansa Will introduce inflight internet early next year via satellite.
Several different firms, including OnAir, Row 44, Panasonic Avionics, and AirCell, are competing for the fledgling business. They seek to fill the void created when Connexion by Boeing folded shop after U.S. airlines determined it was too expensive and too heavy to install.
Connexion was deployed by 10 international carriers.
AirCell appears to be the front-runner, since its systems will be cheaper ($100,000 per plane) and lighter (under 100 pounds) than Connexions. Although AirCell uses the wireless spectrum that once belonged to Verizon Airfone, it works only over the continental U.S., much like WiFi in hotels or internet cafes. That means it needs a satellite partner to expand overseas.
Passenger cost for AirCell access is also expected to be reasonably inexpensive, perhaps close to the $10 per day charged by various WiFi hotspots.
Fortunately for the majority of airline passengers, AirCell says its systems wont allow internet-based telephone conversations.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bans use of cellphones in passenger cabins, citing safety concerns, but passenger surveys suggest comfort and quiet as their main reasons for opposing the use of portable telephones in flight.
