Aug 20, 2008 10:35 am US/Central
American Airlines Launches Full Inflight Internet
(CBS)
Marking the beginning of the next wireless revolution, American Airlines made history today with the launch of the mobile broadband service.
Effective today, customers traveling on American's Boeing 767-200 aircraft can access in Internet on nonstop flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and Miami. The service will be available on a total of 15 aircraft for a three to six month trial period, according to American Airlines spokeswoman September Wade.
American, the world's largest airline, and Aircell, the world's leading provider of airborne communications, have joined together to bring the first full in-flight broadband service to the U.S. market.
"We are pleased to provide our customers with the unprecedented ability to stay connected to their family, friends and business associates on the ground via the Internet while traveling at 30,000 feet above the United States," said Dan Garton, American's executive vice president for marketing.
Aircell's Gogo service will be available to customers as a fee-based service in all cabins. Aircell will charge $12.95 on flights more than three hours, which include American's Boeing 767-200 flights.
Gogo turns an American Airlines flight into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Once the aircraft has reached 10,000 feet, users can simply turn on their Wi-Fi enabled devices such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, open their browsers and be directed to the Gogo portal page where they sign up and begin surfing.
American Airlines will expand the broadband service to other flights at a later date based on customer demand from the initial trial period on the 15 Boeing 767-200 aircrafts.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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