“If you’ve flown across the country on American Airlines, Delta or Virgin America recently, you probably know it’s easier than ever to get online in the air. Thanks to a company called Aircell, it’s about to get even easier,” Elizabeth Woyke reports for Forbes.
“The Itasca, Ill.-based firm provides an in-flight Wi-Fi service called Gogo. When Gogo launched last summer, laptop users, particularly business travelers, were the first to log on and pay. Now Aircell is trying to entice owners of cellphones and other mobile devices to use Gogo, too,” Woyke reports.
“Speeds lag regular Wi-Fi but are comparable to mobile broadband. Gogo charges a flat fee of $9.95 for laptop users (on flights shorter than three hours) or $12.95 (on longer flights),” Woyke reports.
“Aircell is coming off a busy few months. Its service is currently active on 117 planes across three different carriers and will soon be available on two more (United Airlines and Air Canada.) On Tuesday, Aircell plans to announce that American Airlines will expand Gogo to most of its fleet. The company says 2009 is shaping up to be a breakthrough year, with Gogo slated to be on as many as 1,200 planes by year-end,” Woyke reports.
“These agreements are the first step. Outfitting planes with Gogo’s system–a mix of Wi-Fi antennae and routers that communicate with cellular towers on the ground–comes next. But Gogo’s ultimate success depends on Aircell’s ability to get leisure travelers online. The company estimates that only 25% to 40% of leisure travelers carry laptops, compared with 75% of road warriors. But nearly 100% of both groups bring their cellphones on planes,” Woyke reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz” and “Edward W.” for the heads up.]
