Surfing the Net at 30,000 Feet
The airlines know that long flights are really “down-time” for business travelers. Boeing’s foray into this arena proved to be devastating due to the high cost of the service and the sudden downturn in air travel after 9-11. Instead of building their own satellite based system as Boeing tried, Airlines are opting for air to ground connections. This will enable email and text messaging on laptops and handheld devices. Aircell, a provider of airborne communications, has licensed significant bandwidth and will be offering internet services to airline passengers in 2008. The first flight offering such services will be on American Airlines using 92 ground based cell towers. JetBlue had purchased a smaller spectrum and has been conducting tests across the US utilizing 100 cell towers. International flights over the ocean will not be left out of the mix. Alaska Air will be using Row 44’s satellite based system, which is part of Hughes Communications Satellite Network. Qantas Airlines will take a similar approach with a satellite service from Matsushita’s Panasonic Avionics through Intelsat Ltd. Panasonic will be able to buy smaller capacity and add to it as the need arises as opposed to leasing satellite transponders whether they need the capacity or not. Another alternative would be to use existing cellular phone systems as OnAir is doing with Air France. Their “on board” cell tower does not emit strong enough signals to interfere with the planes navigational equipment. Boeing, who took a $320 Million pretax hit for its efforts, won’t be reentering this market space. Boeing spokesman John Dern stated:
"There are others out there with different business models, and I don't know anyone who's mounted a successful stand-alone business yet. No doubt there will be firms that try, and I'm sure somebody will figure out a way to do it."
Read the complete story and get a sneak peek at the cost estimates as reported by the Associated Press.
