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Virgin InFlight WiFi Liveblog

November 22, 2008 at 5:53 PM | by egw | 4 Comments

Virgin America debuts its inflight GoGo WiFi today, and we are so excited... almost as excited as Tay Zonday. Join us as we liveblog our way through its debut flight.

4:51PM PDT We tell our seat buddy that we want to stay on the Internet even after the official cut-off. Unfortunately, because we've signed up for a particular session, they'll be able to tell that we're on and can come over and nudge us. Shoot. So this is goodbye till we're on the ground and can give you a full report. Well, we'll go ahead and sip some more champagne.

By the way -- we are flying somewhere, specifically, Great Falls, Idaho. We're not stopping there, just making a big loop. Oops! Tim Maxwell just called us "young lady" and told us to log off. Later!

4:47PM PDT Announcement: "The WiFi trial has come to an end." The crew from Gadget Gossip is shooting directly behind us. Which makes us wonder... How much are people actually writing on this plane? There are so many people in the aisles we're starting to feel a little left out with our computers.

4:41PM PDT SF comedy troupe SPF7 is filming a skit on how to join the Mile-High Club. In the words of someone we have sworn never to mention again, thanks but no thanks!

4:38 PM PDT Overheard: "If you think American is slow, you haven't met slow yet."

Predict widespread mutiny when Virgin America attempts to get us all to log off so they can stream to YouTube Live on the ground. Particularly from the iPhone users!

4:27PM PDT Apparently some people are having problems getting online... not us! Smooth sailing all the way. Suzanne from YouTube borrowed our computer to check out the YouTubeLive site to see Brandon Hardesty, who's making announcements right now... for us to go to YouTube and look at his movie reenactments. Woo hoo! Feeling delightfully overstimulated thanks to the free Karma Champagne and of course the sweet, sweet Internet. But the question is, was that Richard Blakeley I saw in front of me and when is he going to do something crazy?

4:13PM PDT: We're online... on the plane! The buzz in the air was palpable as VX11 took off from San Francisco International Airport and a plane full of Internet junkies waited for this moment. We watched a promo reel from YouTubers like LisaNova, William Sledd and SF Parkour using Virgin America planes as a backdrop during takeoff, and now everyone's either online or trying to get there.

Our seat buddy: Tim Maxwell, Chief Marketing Officer for Aircell which is sittin' pretty with either deals or talks in the works with most major American airlines to provide WiFi. (American has their GoGo service through them as well.)

Famous people we've seen so far: iJustine (she is so wee!). We hear Keith Powell and Katrina Bowden of "30 Rock" are on the flight but have yet to catch a glimpse.

Related Stories:
· Virgin America Will Launch Its First WiFi-Enabled Plane November 22 [Jaunted]
· OMG! In-Flight WiFi Is Here! [Jaunted]
· In-Flight Wifi coverage [Jaunted]

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In-flight Porn? Not if American Airlines Flight Attendants Get Their Way

September 14, 2008 at 10:50 AM | by Victor Ozols | 0 Comments

One of the issues that arises from the introduction of in-flight wi-fi is that of internet pornography. Sure, it's great to be able to check your email and surf the web on your laptop instead of having to watch Wild Hogs or Cheaper By the Dozen 2 for the fourth time, but should people be able to access pornographic material in view of other passengers? The Association of Professional Flight Attendants doesn't think so. Bloomberg reports that a group of flight attendants from American Airlines has asked the company to filter its in-flight internet access to block inappropriate content.

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American Airlines Gets Thinking About In-Flight Internet

August 8, 2007 at 8:50 AM | by juliana | 0 Comments

AirCell (" a provider of aviation communications") announced yesterday that it will partner with American Airlines to start offering on-board internet access.

But we wouldn't get too excited. There is going to be a testing period and that doesn't start until 2008 and then only on 767-200 aircrafts. Plus, the business of this all has not been so enticing for airlines. (Though we did enjoy Connexion way back when.)

Still AirCell is selling the dream that their system will work better than the others.

AirCell says its system, which is based on cellular technology, is less bulky and much cheaper than Boeing's old satellite-based service.

AirCell Chief Executive Jack Blumenstein told Reuters that the equipment costs about $100,000 per plane and that airlines can offer the service for about $10 per flight.

We actually made a note of it when AirCell bought the license for in-air WiFi last year and we guessed that they were trying to finagle a cell phone deal as well.

So far, there's been no mention of AA doing that and that's good news because we like American. It's like the sweet-natured and wiser older sister compared to United's trashy and temperamental younger sister. Also, American hasn't lost our luggage. Yet.

Related Stories:
· AA prepares for on-board internet [CNN]
· Jet Blue Sedates Passengers Further [Jaunted]

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JetBlue Sedates Passengers Further

June 5, 2006 at 10:05 AM | by AVB | 0 Comments



Oh, please, could this be true? According to Wireless Report, JetBlue recently dropped $7 million for a 1-megaherz wireless license. That means that as soon as the FAA and FCC clear the way for in-flight wi-fi, JetBlue could be ready to offer it on their planes. The license is not as big as the one that AirCell purchased (3-megaherz for about $31 million) but it's an encouraging sign--AirCell probably wants the bandwidth for in-flight cell phone calls, but JetBlue may not have the space or the money to do that.

To us, this looks like a double victory for JetBlue. First, they'll be able to offer TV and wi-fi on their planes. It's almost enough to make you forget that they were one of the least on-time airlines last year (only 61% of the time, surprisingly). We also like that they many not offer passengers the opportunity to make phone calls in-flight. Once that technology is available, a quiet cabin becomes a real selling point, to us and many others, we'd bet.

TV and Internet on domestic flights, tough--can we bring our helmet that holds two beer cans for the flight, too?

[Image via Fly For Fun/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   JetBlue Wins License [Wireless Report]
·   JetBlue Coverage [Jaunted]