Jaunted

In-Flight WiFi

Joe Brancatelli Calls out Airlines on Non-Existant WiFi

August 19, 2008 at 10:15 AM | 4 Comments

We normally don't go for the business travel-oriented ranting of Portfolio columnist Joe Brancatelli but his article this week is totally great. The premise? Where the heck is our in-flight WiFi?

With so many airlines recently announcing big plans for the service, Joe did a little digging to find out why we aren't yet online at 35,000 feet. One executive at American Airlines, which tested Aircell WiFi earlier this summer, says:

This thing should have been working months ago. Obviously, there's something wrong.

Delta, which just announced its plans, is already behind schedule: The carrier says it will have at least some planes fitted with wireless gear by year's end, but the FAA hasn't even looked at the airline's paperwork yet.

Airlines using technology from Row 44 aren't doing much better, it seems. Both Southwest and Alaska are already behind schedule, having yet to test the satellite-based wireless technology.

Related Stories:
· No WiFi in the Sky [Portfolio]
· Dark Horse Delta Announces Massive In-Flight WiFi Rollout [Jaunted]
· Coming Soon-ish: Virgin's Own In-Flight WiFi [Jaunted]