With more than 500 planes fitted with the Row44 in-flight internet kit a flight on Southwest these days is quite likely to mean an opportunity to be online while in the air. With my most recent work trip including a segment on Southwest that also meant an opportunity for me to try out the satellite-based […]
Southwest Airline
Gate-to-gate wifi: Coming soon, but someone has to pay for it
Now that personal electronic device use is permitted gate-to-gate on the bulk of flights in the USA (and most of the rest should be on board soon) the question becomes what about gate-to-gate connectivity? When will travelers be able to use WiFi throughout their trip rather than only above 10,000 feet? Alas, the answer isn’t […]
In-flight internet and content manipulation: What are you really seeing?
An interesting report has surfaced on an internet security focused mailing list. The story is told by a support engineer who received a call from an end-user complaining that a website wouldn’t load. After confirming that the web server was functioning properly they started to troubleshoot the laptop which was experiencing the issues. That’s where […]
Delta to lease AirTran 717s from Southwest
When Southwest bought out AirTran they were quite up front about their desire to get rid of the 717s in their newly acquired fleet. Thanks to a new agreement between Delta and their pilot union, it seems like there is a deal on the table which will allow them to do precisely that. Assuming the […]
American to launch streaming media service in-flight
American Airlines announced this week that they are extending their partnership with in-flight internet provider Aircell, the company behind the gogo service. There are two main components to the announcement, one covering internet connectivity and the other addressing streaming media. On the internet front the company has committed to expanding their gogo deployment to cover more […]
End of the line for Kiteline
The in-flight internet connectivity market has lost a competitor with the news that the Kiteline product is officially shelved. Kiteline was initially launched as a lower bandwidth cellular solution to in-flight connectivity, essentially the same concept as the Aircell gogo product, but with limited features – only certain websites would work – and a lower […]
Southwest confirms Row44 rollout schedule
It is really, really, really official now. Southwest is going to have in-flight internet service from Row44. Yes, this would seem to be old news. It was 5 months ago that the carrier announced their intentions to go down this path with provider Row44. But both parties have been rather quiet for the past few […]
Riding on BetaBlue – the other in-flight Internet option
There are three main players in in-flight internet service for US-based carriers. Aircell’s gogo service is – by far – the most dominant, with more carriers signed on as partners and more planes in service than anyone else. Then there is Row44 which has made significant progress over the past couple months, signing up two […]
Free in-flight WiFi coming to a satellite near you?
If Row44 and Southwest have anything to say about it then a free in-flight internet option might be coming to the carrier’s fleet-wide deployment of the Row44 system. The biggest hurdle to adoption for the service has been cost. People love it when it is free but as soon as a cost factor comes into […]
LUVing WiFi at Southwest
Earlier in the month there was some big news from in-flight internet provider Row44 – they received approval from the FCC to operate their gear on airplanes in the USA. The other shoe dropped yesterday, with Southwest announcing that they are going to be equipping their entire fleet with the system. Southwest Airlines and Row […]