Cabin Tech ’09
These days, you can stay as web-connected in the air as you can in your office
By Stephen Pope - June 1, 2009
Now that the business jet cabin can be turned into a flying Wi-Fi hotspot, our days of being sealed off from the rest of the world after takeoff really are numbered.
Aircell, the company behind the GoGo Internet service available on a growing number of airline flights, is expanding into the business jet field in a big way with hardware that is lightweight and relatively inexpensive and speeds fast enough to satiate any Internet junkie. The really big news? Installations for business jet customers will start in July, some three months ahead of schedule, according to the Itasca, Ill. company.
Three years ago, Aircell paid $31 million to the federal government for a swath of air-to-ground frequency spectrum that was originally used for those seat-back phones most airline passengers ignored. The company has since built 92 cell sites across the U.S. that provide uninterrupted broadband coverage above 10,000 feet.
The best thing about the Aircell service is the speed. Data rates through the ground-to-air network can reach 3.1 megabits per second to the airplane and 1.8 megabits per second in the reverse direction. That means Web pages load as quickly as they do in your office, online videos start immediately and play without interruption and e-mail attachments appear almost instantly. All you have to do is settle into your seat, open your laptop and start surfing.
The onboard hardware needed to connect to the service consists of an Aircell Axxess unit with built-in Wi-Fi and Iridium satcom voice-calling capability, an ATG 4000 data unit and two seven-inch blade antennas installed on the belly. The package costs about $85,000, plus the price of installation. That’s a bargain compared with most satellite communications alternatives (which we’ll cover in a bit), and it gives you two channels of low-cost Iridium satellite voice service that you can use to make phone calls anywhere in the world. What’s more, the hardware can be installed in virtually any size airplane, even down to single-engine turboprops.
Aircell’s GoGo Internet service has been installed on around 185 airliners so far and appears to be popular with passengers. Airlines now installing GoGo gear include American, Delta, United, Air Canada and Virgin America. Passengers pay $12.95 for Internet access on flights longer than three hours and $9.95 on shorter legs. On some flights, access using a handheld device such as a BlackBerry or iPhone is offered for $7.95 per segment. Thousands have logged on to the service, including many frequent fliers who use GoGo nearly every time they board, Aircell reports.
The company has rolled out two pricing plans for business aviation users. The first opens the full fire hose of airborne data for a flat monthly fee of $1,995. The second plan, enabling “light” Internet use and e-mail access using Wi-Fi-enabled BlackBerrys or iPhones, costs $895 a month. Both services are available anywhere over the continental U.S. and could soon be expanded to parts of Canada and Mexico, Aircell says.
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