29 August 2008

America trials wifi service

The days of rendering yourself incommunicado whilst in the air are slowly coming to a close following the arrival of American Airlines new wifi service.

The carrier is now trialling its new internet service for six months on its 15-strong fleet of 767-200s flying between New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami.

AA, which has partnered with technology provider Aircell for the pilot, says customers will be able to surf the web at roughly the same speed as a broadband connection on the ground will allow.

The move comes just weeks after Emirates became the first airline to offer passengers flying in and out of the UK mobile phone use in the air.

Passengers will need 802.11a/b/g wifi enabled laptops, smartphones and PDAs in order to log onto their aircraftÃ¢â¬â¢s Gogo wireless network and it will cost them Ã&#pound;7 per flight.

The airline, however, will not allow mobile phone or VoIP services.

President and CEO of Aircell Jack Blumenstein said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœAirlines finally have an economically viable option for providing the broadband connectivity passengers are demanding. Today the days of being cut off from the rest of the world while in the air become history.Ã¢â¬~

by Dinah Hatch