North Texans flying American Airlines will soon have the ability to e-mail, surf and tweet at 30,000 feet. The Fort Worth-based airline plans to announce today that it will expand in-flight wireless Internet service to its entire domestic fleet. The expansion will begin on 150 MD-80 jets, which American commonly flies on routes from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Those planes should ƒsall be Internet-capable by ƒsthe end of this year, officials said. American also is adding Wi-Fi to its Boeing 737s, which will be upgraded by next year. American already offers it on coast-to-coast flights on its widebody Boeing 767s. ¡§We¡¦ve had a really great response on our transcontinental flights,¡¨ said Doug Backelin, American¡¦s manager of in-flight communications and technology. ¡§The feedback from the customers and crew has been extremely positive.¡¨ After years of cutting back perks like meals, pillows and legroom, in-flight Wi-Fi is one of the few new services for travelers. But like virtually everything on planes these days, accessing the Internet in the sky isn¡¦t free. American¡¦s service, called Gogo, costs $12.95 for a flight longer than three hours, and $9.95 for shorter flights. It also has a $7.95 option for passengers with hand-held devices such as iPhones. ¡§When you look at the proliferation of hand-held devices, it¡¦s really exploding,¡¨ said John Happ of Aircell, which developed the Gogo service for American and other airlines. ¡§So we¡¦re responding to that with a special option for those customers.¡¨ Several other carriers, including Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, also are developing in-flight Internet. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is testing Internet service on four jets, which occasionally fly from Dallas Love Field. ¡§I think we have an exciting opportunity there,¡¨ said Gary Kelly, Southwest¡¦s chief executive, at an airline conference this month. He said the number of passengers using the system has been ¡§quite significant.¡¨ Airlines split the revenues from in-flight Internet with the service provider ¡X in American¡¦s case, Aircell. The airline declined to provide revenue estimates, but they are likely to be substantial. A survey by consulting firm Forrester Research recently concluded that half of all leisure travelers said they would pay $10 to go online during flights. Even more business travelers are likely to pay for the service. One challenge could be providing technical support for passengers who have difficulty connecting. Backelin said that American flight attendants will neither be trained to help nor expected to act as in-flight tech support. Instructions will be included in every seat once jets are upgraded. And, Happ said, Aircell is providing live online support for passengers who can connect but have problems logging onto the service. So far, there haven¡¦t been many technical problems, Backelin said. With the increased availability of Wi-Fi service at locations ranging from coffee shops to libraries, most laptop owners are already savvy about going online, he noted. One feature American won¡¦t allow: online voice calls. The Gogo system bars services like Skype and others that allow people to talk online. American is also using filtering technology to ban pornographic and other offensive sites, Backelin said. He noted that the new service is a rare offering that is coveted by passengers and is a moneymaker for the airline. ¡§We¡¦re a financially driven company, so we look very closely at where we invest our dollars,¡¨ Backelin said. ¡§This one is a clear winner.¡¨ --- From Star-telegram.com How nice!!!American Airlines expanding in-flight Wi-Fi to entire domestic fleet
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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
FINALLLLYYYYY!!!!!
tbanstetter@star-telegram.com
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