The carrier will partner with Aircell, the same company that's behind the wireless offerings planned for AA and Virgin America. The company uses cellular technology, meaning the service will only be available on domestic flights.
First up for WiFi will be Delta's 133 MD-88/90s. Soon after, the carrier will install the system across more than 200 737s, 757s and 767-300s.
We're taking our time to get it right. We're not just throwing this on our planes like in the lobby of some hotel.
Charles tells us that Virgin should have at least some in-flight WiFi by this fall; the whole fleet will have it by early 2009.
As is the case on AA--but not on JetBlue--you'll be able to surf the whole web from your laptop, and, notably, the VA product will also let you SMS from the seat-back entertainment console. Charles says that once the system is in place--and Paris Hilton helps christen it on the premiere WiFi flight--the carrier will continue to develop its internet offerings. So how long till we're playing video games against our buddies on different Virgin flights?
American Airlines will test its in-flight WiFi system tomorrow on a round-trip between JFK and LAX. We're hearing that wireless for the rest of American's 15-plane 767-200 fleet is ready to go. In other words, if this test is a success, they'll flip the "on" switch.
The carrier is using Aircell technology that'll be available under the Gogo brand name. Pricing will be what the company announced in March: $13 for longer flights, $10 for shorter flights. On Wednesday, though, access will be free.
Currently the only other in-air wireless is from JetBlue, which only has limited internet access on one plane, BetaBlue. Virgin America is slated to start up Aircell WiFi sometime this year, too.
If you're flying, we'd love to see a screenshot of Gogo in action. Please send one our way!
We were a little underwhelmed when JetBlue unveiled its in-flight WiFi last December. Available on a single aircraft, the service only let you check email via Yahoo Mail or BlackBerry or chat with friends via Yahoo Messenger. Hardly a killer app.
But starting today, you'll be able to check your accounts at Gmail, AOL, Hotmail and Windows Live Mail, too. If your office uses Microsoft Exchange, you'll also be able to check in with the boss. And JetBlue has also partnered with Amazon.com, in case your online shopping can't wait until you've landed.
You still won't be able to fully surf the web, but at least the service will still be free. When American Airlines finally gets its WiFi flying, you'll be paying at least $10 per segment to connect.
Air France may let its passengers yak away, but don't expect to hear any cell phone calls above the States just yet. As far as we've heard, no American carrier wants to offer phone calls. (Though there's one JetBlue plane that will let you use your BlackBerry to surf the web.)
The silence is thanks to a confluence of factors, not least of which is the FCC, which was inundated with "Oh noes!" after it tried to lift a ban on in-flight yapping. The Flight Attendants Association has also been pushing hard to limit airborne calls so that its members won't have to deal with idiots who refuse to put down their phones.
Even airlines which would theoretically have VoIP calling capability, like AA and Virgin America, won't be allowing it. So for now you can rest easy that your flight won't be interrupted--except by that little blooping sound every time a new IM rolls in.
While on the American side of the Atlantic, the popular opinion is that the last thing plane passengers want is for their neighbor to be allowed to chat away on a cell phone, over in Europe they've been considering the idea more seriously. And now the opportunity has arrived, with Air France.
They've already had a three-month trial of in-flight text messaging, and this week Air France has started to allow passengers to make cell phone calls while they're in the air. Their theory is that they'll give it a go and see how passengers react, before deciding whether or not they'll limit things to a text message only service.
If you're still worried about cell phone use causing your plane to crash, don't worry too much: The dangers are apparently all on landing and the Air France service is only activated about 9,800 feet. The system allows unlimited SMSs to fly through the air and up to six passengers will be able to make phone calls at once. So for a noisier-than-usual flight, check out Air France soon. Call us when you do.
American Airlines and Virgin America are racing to be the first US carrier to offer in-flight WiFi*, and they could both be online by this summer. The CEO of Aircell, the company outfitting the planes, says you should be flying out of SFO:
For the first six months, there will be more broadband-enabled flights out of San Francisco.
Aircell is marketing its service as Gogo for some reason, and the company's website indicates flights between JFK and both Miami and LA will have WiFi soon, too.
As for pricing, it's what we've heard before: $13 for a long flight and $10 for any trip under three hours.
Besides open skies, in-flight WiFi stands to be one of the biggest travel storylines of the year as heaps of carriers add the service to their fleets in 2008. That means its time for another look at the etiquette of airborne VoIP calls--and what airlines are doing to stop them.
An airborne environment is a confined environment. You don't want 22B yapping away or playing a boom box.
But Europeans, as we know, love their cell phones:
Air France, which plans to start allowing cellular calls through (service provider) OnAir within months, said it would see how people use such services before crafting rules.
What could be even more interesting than the debate over blocked or unblocked phone calls is what sort of filtering software airlines choose to use in the air. Sadly, it'll probably end up being as draconian as DIA's web nanny.
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