American Airlines has announced the availability of Wi-Fi Internet service aboard three of its domestic routes. Customers aboard American Airlines flights from New York to Los Angeles, New York to San Francisco and New York to Miami can access the Internet for $12.95 per flight on its 767-200 airplanes via the service, called Gogo.
According to AA officials, beta testing in May and early August with real customers on cross-country flights showed that the service would be well received.
John Tiliacos, managing director of onboard products at American Airlines, said, “During dress rehearsals, customers were enthusiastic. Our business customers value it, and it is something they have told us they want.” Once the selected AA flights reach the 10,000-foot electronics-clear altitude, customers can boot up their laptops and sign on to the Wi-Fi service with a one-time charge to a credit card. Users can access IM and virtually any Web site, although VoIP applications will be blocked. Otherwise, the Web experience should be the same as on the ground, according to the company.
When asked when the initial service would be expanded to other flights and routes, Tiliacos said, “We’re going to run the service for a few months, evaluate how it performs, then make a determination.”
AA Is Aircell Gogo Powered
The American Airlines Internet experience is powered by Itasca, Illinois-based Aircell Inc. The Gogo technology is similar in nature to traditional cell-phone coverage, with land-based Aircell towers carrying signals throughout the continental United States. “We have 92 cells, and cover border to border, coast to coast,” said Fran Phillips, senior vice president of airline solutions at Aircell. “We are looking to expand coverage into Mexico and Canada next year, as well.”
The infrastructure for retrofitting existing airplanes for Internet service is minimal, Tiliacos explained. “There’s some lightweight network…