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In-Flight Wi-Fi Makes its Debut

Posted by simoniker on from the fly-by-wi-fi dept.

mindless4210 writes "German airline Lufthansa will become the first carrier to provide Boeing's Connexion service to its passengers. The service will be unveiled on May 17 on non-stop flights from Munich to Los Angeles, with plans to outfit their entire fleet over the next year. Passengers will be able to purchase access using their credit cards and Wi-Fi enabled laptops. The cost is set at $30 for the entire flight or $10 for 30 minutes."

5 of 336 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Wink wink by josh3736 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I don't believe your own right hand counts for admission to the mile high club.

  2. Flash vs. no Flash by Big+Nothing · · Score: 4, Informative

    A Flash-free website with information on Boeing Connexion can be found here.

    --
    SIG: TAKE OFF EVERY 'CAPTAIN'!!
  3. Why you can't listen on takeoff & landing by k2dbk · · Score: 5, Informative
    I've never understood how a CD player could mess with their equipment very much...
    I once asked why, and was told that they don't want you to not be able to hear any announcement that might be made during those "critical" times.
  4. Re:Whole new world.. by baudilus · · Score: 4, Informative
    from the CBB FAQ (currently /.ed):
    What is the Connexion by Boeing service infrastructure?
    * Airborne system: airborne antennas, airborne servers, routers, and associated wiring.
    * Ground system: network operations center, associated satellite uplink and downlink equipment, and business operation center.
    * Space system: leased satellite transponders.
    It looks like they do use satellites, but they also seem to have ground NOC's and antennae. They don't say which is used for what, but it's safe to assume that it won't be as fast as my optonline connection :D
  5. Re:Entirely bizarre - why not Ethernet? by mean+pun · · Score: 4, Informative
    Given that each seat already has a myriad of cabling going to it, I simply can't see why they've opted for WiFi connectivity - other than as a gimmic.

    Two good reasons are weight and maintenance. All that extra wiring may be a small fraction of total takeof weight, but why waste it, when you can get paid for air freight or burn less fuel? Also, keeping all those connectors functioning is much harder than keeping a wireless access point running.

    Oh, and installing all that wiring would require a lot of expensive maintenance time, whereas installing a wireless access point is fairly simple.