Tag: Row 44 View All Tags
Tags: In-Flight WiFi / WiFi / Row 44 / SkyMall / Shopping Travel / Airline News / SkyTown Center / → All Tags
In-Flight WiFi Meets SkyMall With New 'SkyTown Center' Service
It was only a matter of time before in-flight WiFi was used for evil. Well, not exactly, but we aren’t totally thrilled that we might be subjected to some hardcore in-flight advertising while we are trying to get some work done. There’s a new service called SkyTown Center and it’s sort of like an online version of the SkyMall catalog. Sure it will bring free WiFi to many passengers, but it will also bring loads of advertisements and access to websites only related to buying stuff.
Thankfully entertainment will also be built into the online shopping service so that passengers will be able to watch some TV, play some games, and read about where they are going. All this will be free, and probably filled with ads, but navigating away to check your email will cost you a little bit. Anything to keep people entertained—and hopefully quiet—in the cabin is a good idea.
Tags: In-Flight WiFi / Southwest / Alaska Airlines / Airline News / Row 44 / Gogo / → All Tags
The FCC Is Cool With Row 44's In-Flight WiFi Satellite System
Most of our in-flight WiFi coverage has been focused on Aircell and their Gogo Internet service. However, there is another kid on the block, and Row 44 has been trying their best to gain some market share.
It's too bad Row 44 has had a slower start than their competition; after all, they have been teasing us with their goods for some time. At least they have partners like Alaska Airlines and Southwest, so they definitely have attracted some big business.
Tags: In-flight WiFi / Alaska Airlines / Flight Reviews / Row 44 / → All Tags
WiFi Is Working on Alaska Airlines But How Much Would You Pay?
While we have no idea what the heck is up with Air Canada's WiFi, we do know that Alaska Airline's internet service is real and it is mostly spectacular. Harriet Baskas, who writes Stuck at the Airport tipped us off to her in-flight WiFi experience yesterday as she rode Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Orange County and back.
The first day online (courtesy of Row 44) wasn't worthy of any Branson-style celebrations and in fact, the only way passengers knew that the service was on the plane was by noticing the big WiFi decal plane by the door or if they read the card in the seatback pocket. However, those who used it seemed to like it very much:
Once folks did discover the service - which is complimentary during the test period - they used it, talked about it to their seatmates and across the aisles and, of course, sent e-mail messages: “Guess where I’m writing from.”
The service was a bit sluggish on the return trip, which got folks talking even more, but generally once travelers got connected, they seemed delighted to have this new amenity as an in-flight option.
Stuck at the Airport then wrote that the airline is asking travelers to fill out a survey with an important question being: "How much would you pay for this service?" Ah, a loaded question indeed.
Tags: In-Flight Wifi / Alaska Airlines / Airline News / Row 44 / → All Tags
Remember, Alaska Airlines Kicks Off Its WiFi Service Today
It’s only a matter of time before we’ll look back on the year that was, and realize that 2009 was the year of in-flight WiFi. We’ll start taking it for granted, complain that it’s too slow, and demand it on all flights. However, for now, we’ll take what we can get, but we’re getting one step closer today when Alaska Airlines starts their first WiFi flight.
If your traveling from Seattle down to San Jose today, then you’ll have a shot to test out the latest offering from Row 44. The WiFi service will be launched on Boeing 737-700 planes, so we’re thinking that it’s lucky Flight 328 that leaves Seattle at 2:20 PM, PT. As long as there’s no equipment swap, that’s the only flight between the two cities that will use that type of plane.
The service will be free for the first two months while they work out all the bugs, so if you’re on board there’s no reason not to check it out. Most importantly, if you are able to experience it first hand, you have to tell us. You can send a tweet, send a tip, or just throw a comment below. You’ll be our hero—at least for this week.
Related Stories:
·Alaska Airlines Offer In-Flight Wi-Fi [Coolest Gadgets]
·Alaska Air Starts WiFi Trials, Gives It Away For Free [Jaunted]
·Alaska Airlines coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Drewski2112]
Tags: In-Flight Wifi / Alaska Airlines / Airline News / Row 44 / → All Tags
Alaska Air Starts WiFi Trials, Gives It Away for Free
Jumping on the WiFi bandwagon this week is Alaska Airlines as they just announced the beginning of a free, two-month trial period of in-flight WiFi aboard their Seattle-San Jose route. What, no WiFi trial on actual Alaska routes? That is so not fair.
With the intent of outfitting their entire fleet, save for poor Horizon Air, Alaska has tapped Row 44, who also hooked up the WiFi for Southwest; that makes two successful clients for the start-up. If we are to put any stock in an old Daily Wireless story, then pricing for WiFi use after the trial period will be staggered at "$10 for up to two hours, $15 for 2-5hr and $20 for more than 5hr," with a peak aircraft bandwidth of 35 Mbps.
For anyone who hits the jackpot in March or April by stumbling onto one of these rare trial flights, do enjoy the healthy 2 hours of Twittering and YouTube it'll afford you, and don't forget to tell us all about it.
Related Stories:
· In-Flight WiFi Q&A [Alaska Airlines]
· WiFi Coming to Alaska Air, free for now [Seattle Times]
· Southwest's InFlight Internet: Testing, Testing [Jaunted]
· In-Flight WiFi coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Drewski2112]
Tags: In-Flight WiFi / Southwest / Travel News / Row 44 / Gary Kelly / → All Tags
Southwest's InFlight Internet: Testing, Testing
UPDATE: Southwest's CEO Gary Kelly tested the in-flight WiFi today and sent out an email to his executive planning committee: Y'all are my first email from SWA Wifi. It's awesome! Speed is good. Customers obviously luv it.
Even in the air, Keller stays on message.
Could you possible log on onboard in the No Hidden Fee Zone? Southwest Airlines announced today it will begin testing in-flight WiFi in conjunction with tech startup Row 44, with hopes to have 4 planes WiFi enabled by March. But where can we get it, and how much will it cost?
Along with the announcement Southwest posted a short video of digital addicts using Facebook and their iPhones on a test flight of unspecified destination. (You can't make a cell phone call, though.) They even showed off what we assume is Row 44's machinery at work, dubbed "Gadget 13," making this test the first in which we've actually seen the sausage being made, so to speak.
We dinged Row 44 for making a big splash at CES without any examples of its superiority over other in-flight wireless providers like Gogo. Now they're making good and, if the president's interview with the New York Times holds, may actually be undercutting the market with charges of $6 for handheld devices and $8 for laptops.
And while not all of Southwest's fee-conscious passengers will spring for that kind of extra, some will -- or rather, we would.
No routes were named as potentially WiFi ready, but looking into our crystal ball we foresee Internet popping up en route to Vegas, Chicago-Midway and Phoenix, their top three destinations (and two of which are cities included on the test flights today and tomorrow).
Related Stories:
· Jan '08: Southwest Airlines Announces In-Flight WiFi< [Jaunted]
· Aug '08: Southwest Planning Some WiFi Flights by Year's End [Jaunted]
· Row 44's CES Hype Doesn't Equal In-Flight Internet [Jaunted]
· Virgin InFlight WiFi Liveblog [Jaunted]
· You Think The Guy In The Seat Next To You Is Annoying Now? [NYT Bits Blog]
Tags: In-Flight WiFi / Row 44 / Southwest Airlines / Alaska Airlines / → All Tags
Row 44's CES Hype Doesn't Equal In-Flight Internet
In-flight WiFi provider Row 44 churned out the hype at this year's CES in Las Vegas, going so far as to bring a Grumman seaplane to host trial flights above the city for at least one journalist. But what would really impress us is if Row 44 could actually get its system up and running on a commercial flight.
See, Row 44 has been talking about how its satellite-based offering is superior to Gogo's cellular signal since at least 2007. But despite a promise from Southwest that planes would be internet-ready by 2008, we've yet to see that. Meanwhile, in September 2007, Alaska Airlines planned to have its whole 114-aircraft fleet outfitted by the end of 2009. At this point, one plane would be progress.
At CES, Row 44 claimed that trials on both airlines will start this month. But now that the company is officially the Thompson Hotels of airborne internet, we're not holding our breath. But with pricing rumored to be $6 for hand-held devicess and $8 for laptops, we'd love to give it a try. Maybe in 2010?
Related Stories:
· Row 44 Web Access for Airlines Gets a Test Flight [LA Times]
· Think the Guy in the Next Seat Is Annoying Now? [NYT Bits Blog]
· In-Flight WiFi: Best Amenity Ever Or Necessary Evil? [Jaunted]
[Photo: Marco Wessel]
Tags: Open Threads / In-Flight WiFi / Virgin America / Delta / Southwest Airlines / Alaska Airlines / Aircell / Gogo / Row 44 / → All Tags
In-Flight WiFi: Best Amenity Ever Or Necessary Evil?
If 2008 was the year that in-flight WiFi became a reality, 2009 is poised to be the year that most of us will accept it as a fact of the flying life. Virgin America is planning to trick out its whole fleet with internet and Delta is packing more than 300 planes with Gogo by this summer, and the CEO of Row 44 claims both Southwest and Alaska will have satellite-based WiFi installed this year.
While tech writer David Pogue naively griped recently about the cost of the in-flight experience revolution that's afoot, he also brought up an excellent question that's been rattling in the background of the conversation about in-air internet: Do we really want the final disconnected place on Earth overwhelmed by YouTube videos, LiveJournal and email messages from the boss?
At least one person we've talked to says Aircell WiFi is "totally worth it," while other reviewers give it high marks despite slight reservations about letting the internet further overwhelm their lives.
But what say you? Is it worth $13 to escape from the drone of jet engines and your miserable seatmate, even if it means we'll never again be able to disconnect and take a break from Twitter? Thoughts in the comments, please.
Related Stories:
· Our IM Interview with an AA Passenger [Jaunted]
· Gogo WiFi On American Is "Totally Worth It" [Jaunted]
· Aircell WiFi Gets Another Glowing Review [Jaunted]
[Photo: Marco Wessel]
Tags: Southwest Airlines / In-Flight WiFi / Row 44 / Twitter / → All Tags
Southwest Planning Some WiFi Flights by Year's End
While thinking about in-fight WiFi yesterday, we realized that Southwest Airlines has been awfully quiet on that front lately. So we went ahead and asked the carrier via Twitter how the trials planned for this summer were going.
Apparently, the going is slow:
We will have four aircraft in the 4th quarter of 2008! Get excited!
Just four? Out of more than 500 737s? Well, we do have to admit four is a lot better than one!
Related Stories:
· Southwest's Tweet [Twitter]
· Rampant Speculation: Is United WiFi Coming Soon? [Jaunted]
· Southwest Airlines coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: In-Flight WiFi / Row 44 / Aircell / Gogo / Joe Brancatelli / → All Tags
Joe Brancatelli Calls out Airlines on Non-Existant WiFi
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]
Tags: Southwest Airlines / Row 44 / Aircell / ATA / → All Tags
Rampant Speculation: Is Southwest About to Go International?
Now that one low cost carrier has revealed its latest plans, it's time for Southwest to share some news. (God knows the carrier could use some good press.) While it's far from certain, at least one industry watcher thinks the airline could announce something big:
The new CEO of Global [which owns ATA] should be a familiar name. He's the ex-CFO of Southwest Airlines and ex-CEO of ATA: John Denison. And, as we all know, John is very close to current Southwest CEO Gary Kelly.
People tell us this afternoon that we could hear about what Southwest is going to do with ATA's international certificate in as little as 48 hours.
Hmmm... That was about 40 hours ago.
Tags: In-Flight WiFi / WiFi / Row 44 / Alaska Airlines / Southwest Airlines / → All Tags
Southwest Airlines Announces In-Flight WiFi
Right before New Year's, we heard a rumor that Southwest Airlines would be offering in-flight WiFi sometime this year. Today the carrier announced that it will test satellite-based broadband on four aircraft this summer.
Going the satellite route differentiates the product from what Virgin America and American Airlines are planning; both are working with a company called Aircell. Southwest is partnering with Row 44, the same folks who are putting together an in-flight Internet service for Alaska Airlines. The benefit of a satellite system is that it works anywhere, not just over land.
Obviously this is a play to make passengers feel more productive, per Southwest's new (annoying) advertising campaign. But the Airline Biz Blog is wondering why the carrier would bother with a system that works over the ocean. Could international routes be in the works?
Related Stories:
· Southwest's Internet Announcement [Official Site]
· Southwest and Broadband [ABB]
· Southwest Secretly Preparing In-Flight WiFi [Jaunted]
· Jaunted Guide to Airborne Internet [Jaunted]
[Photo: Drewski2112]
