inflighthq

Singapore Airlines announces IPTV on selected flights in addition to broadband internet provided by it's Connexion by Boeing service

Singapore Airlines recently announced the onboard availability of live international TV beamed through it's broadband internet provider Connexion by Boeing. This service will be available directly to any Connexion subscriber with a laptop--in addition to internet and email content beamed from its satellites.

From mid March 2005 onwards: available on selected Singapore-London (SQ320 and SQ321) flights, subject to operational availability of aircraft installed with Connexion By Boeing. The service will be progressively available on all flights between Singapore and London, and on selected long-haul routes in the near future.

Check out this link for pricing and further program info.

United plans for domestic in-flight connectivity

In the New York Times article United Airlines Approved for In-Flight Internet Service, Jeremy Peters reports that United Airlines will be the first domestic airline to receive approval from regulators to install wireless Internet networks on its planes. United plans to take the service live sometime in mid- to late 2006.

United's senior vice president for marketing, said the airline had not yet determined what the cost would be. "We're certainly aware of what the mental price points are for our customers," he said.

Apparently, the Wi-Fi system will utilize the existing onboard phone network, which is operated in a partnership with Verizon. Also transmission will be sent to towers on the ground, and not to satellite. This architecture differs from other inflight Wi-Fi technologies, so we'll have to do some digging to determine what kind of transmission speeds users will experience. Also, this appears to be for a single Boeing 757, not a full fleet or partial fleet commitment yet on the part of UAL. 

Blogging and Skypeing at 36,000 feet......

Here is great URL from Loïc Le Meur's blog on his experience with using the Connexion by Boeing broadband internet connection. Skypeing at a higher level......indeed!

Boingo Wireless create partnership with Connexion by Boeing for onboard wireless service

Boingo Wireless Inc. announced a deal with Connexion by Boeing to provide direct billing to their accounts for users of the Connexion wireless broadband service. See this article by IDG News Service for more information about this partnership and a few interesting thoughts (pro and con) of the Connexion by Boeing service.......

Lufthansa promotion for onboard internet service May 17-23

Lufthansa, one of Europe's leading international air carriers, will be offering inflight wireless broadband (provided by Connexion by Boeing℠) at no cost during May 17-23. The service, called FlyNet® is available on over 35 routes   systemwide and should be on all of Lufthansa's long-haul planes by the summer of 2006.

View the pdf for further details, or check out the Connexion by Boeing℠ site to start browsing the internet/sending & receiving email and accessing your Company Intranet on your next long haul flight.

Videoconferencing at 30,000 feet

Using Apple's iChat software and an iSight camera, Apple product manager Kurt Knight describes how leveraging the Connexion Web access service on the Lufthansa flight to San Francisco from Munich enabled the world's (first?) videoconference.

“The video quality was great and scaled well all the way up to full screen,” says Knight. “I think we made history as the first people to have an in-air video conference, not counting Air Force One or other ultra-expensive solutions. Very, very cool.”

The article continues "Although the wireless Internet connection involved sending data from an Airbus traveling at 500 mph through a satellite receiver in a 20,000-mile earth orbit, conferencing with Zelenka was as easy as clicking his video status button."

No Connection

I made the mistake of not asking at check in if my return flight from Frankfurt to Portland had Internet service.  I assumed it did based on Lufthansa's site information , attempted to get on line, was able to get a weak connection and struggled with it for a while before asking the flight attendant for help.  The weak connection was the network within the plane and it turned out that the plane had not yet been configured for Internet connection.   This will be a mute point within a few months when all of Lufthansa's fleet will be configured for internet. Before then it's best to check before the flight in case you are planning on working online.

Additionally, the seats in business class that are described as 'full flat' onboard are not quite that.  The seat does convert to a horizontal position, but the foot position is much lower than the head position.  I understand the business class seats are much better than in the past, and had I checked online prior to the flight I would have found them them better represented on the Lufthansa site than the inflight brochure.

On this trip I had six flights on Lufthansa, including long haul and intra Europe.  I found the service from the flight attendants on every flight to be excellent, the flights were ontime and the baggage handling process efficient. 

Connexion

I was able to connect and am currently online on a Lufthansa flight from Portland to Frankfurt.  I was able to connect with little trouble.  Lufthansa offers a free portal with news and instructions when you first log on.  If you are having any connection problems you can refer to the printed instruction booklets in your seat pocket.  Inside is a step by step guide should you need to reconfigure your browser.  I didn't need to ask the flight attendant for help, but he did check in on me to make sure I was connected and seemed prepared to point me in the right direction should I need help.  The business section is split, so I can't see all 36 seats or the 8 in first class, but the section I am in has 24 seats, and just 2 of us are on the network right now. 

Here are speed results from a ping report:

Minimum = 651ms, Maximum = 732ms, Average = 694ms

Lufthansa just refitted the business and first cabins on our airbus 340-A with seats that fully recline.  Mine was not working when we boarded, but there is a  manual override and a circuit that can be reset - that did the trick.  I'm looking forward to sleeping horizontal for a few hours and will enjoy a movie, or try out the playstation-like games.. for research sake. 

The snow crab starter has arrived - signing off for now.

Momentum gathering behind in-flight web access

According to the CNN article: New heights for in-flight Internet,  "No executive wants to arrive at their hotel room after a long-haul flight and have 100 e-mails waiting for them -- one of the reasons why German carrier Lufthansa took the lead and installed in-flight Internet access last May."

The momentum seems to be building. Since the Lufthansa installation of Boeing's Connexion service, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines have installed in-flight Internet, while Singapore Airlines, China Airlines, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have announced their intent to install the Connexion system on long-range aircraft.

This desire by the airlines to "differentiate themselves" will hopefully lead to business travelers "expecting" Internet access on major long-haul business routes. Claims the article.