AA launches inflight Wi-Fi service

BY TONIA N. CIMINO

Thursday, August 21, 2008 6:11 PM EDT

Marking the beginning of the next wireless revolution, American Airlines made history this week with the launch of the mobile broadband service, Gogo(tm) provided by Aircell(r).

Customers traveling on American's Boeing 767-200 aircraft can access complete coast-to-coast coverage on nonstop flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and Miami. American, the world's largest airline and founding member of the oneworld(r) Alliance, and Aircell, the world's leading provider of airborne communications, have joined to bring the first full inflight 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 - Marketing.

"With [the] launch, American Airlines makes history as the first and only U.S. airline to offer customers full inflight Internet connectivity, demonstrating once again our industry leadership and focus on our customers," Garton said.

Aircell's Gogo 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. Each paid Gogo session includes full Internet access. Cell phone and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services are not available.

Gogo turns an American Airlines flight into a Wi-Fi hotspot, enabling passengers to surf the web, check any email, Instant Message, access a corporate VPN, and more. Once the aircraft has reached 10,000 feet, users can simply turn on their Wi-Fi enabled devices such as laptops, smart phones and PDAs, open their browsers and be directed to the Gogo portal page where they sign up and begin surfing. Gogo is powered by the Aircell air-to-ground (ATG) Broadband System, which runs over Aircell's exclusive nationwide network.

"Today, U.S. air travel changes forever. With Aircell's unique ATG inflight Internet service, airlines finally have an economically viable option for providing the broadband connectivity passengers are demanding," said Jack Blumenstein, President and CEO, Aircell. "American Airlines is the first to bring inflight Internet to market, and today the days of being cut off from the rest of the world while in the air become history."

Photo courtesy of American Airlines
American Airlines has announced the launch of in-flight connectivity. American Airlines and Aircell engineers install Aircell's Internet broadband connectivity solution on 15 767-200 aircraft, which fly primarily transcontinental flights.