Aircell and American Airlines have just announced that the domestic carrier will continue to deploy Gogo throughout 300 planes in the next two years. Starting this year, AA will outfit 150 MD-80 aircrafts followed by Boeing 737-800s. Gogo is currently available on non-stop AA flights originating from JFK to SFO, LAX and MIA. Flights longer than three hours cost $13 while flights shorter than that cost $10 and there’s a mobile device plan for $8. That is all.
Aircell has reduced the price of their in-flight Wi-Fi service Gogo to $7.95 for users who just want to connect their handheld devices. Let’s face it, when you’re stuck in coach on an American flight, you don’t want to pull out your laptop only to have it crushed by the passenger in front of you. Gogo is currently available on American Airlines, Delta and Virgin America for $12.95 on flights longer than three hours and $9.95 for flights less than three hours.
Though nearly the entire pre-flight process has been tweaked to make use of modern technologies, one outdated aspect still lingers: the tickets. Every single time I fly, I find myself checking the location where I put my tickets once every 3-4 minutes. Are they still there? Did I remember to zip up after I last checked? When I pulled my hand out, did the ticket sneak out? I’ve never lost a ticket, yet I consistently fear that I will. It’s just such an abnormal thing in our daily lives – when else are we given something to hang on to for a few hours that is so easy to lose or destroy, yet so significant in the success of our plans? Lose that ticket, and there’s a good chance queues and regulations might just make you miss your flight. Miss your flight, and you’ll be making up for it your entire trip.
Fortunately, the times are changing.
Sorry, people. The dream is over. American Airlines has decided that it, along with Delta (and the flight attendants), does not want porn on its flights — despite receiving no complaints whatsoever. Say they:
Based on the feedback of our customers and employees, American Airlines is working with Aircell(R) to implement technology to filter pornographic content over the Gogo(R) inflight Internet service.
I guess you’ll have to “pack in” your own stuff and not rely on the bounty of the internet. You filthy animal.
So you’ve found a way to make VoIP calls on American Airlines flights with Gogo by using some Flash-based service? Good for you, really, but anyone saying that they’ve hacked the system needs to reassess the meaning of the term. Stumbling upon an app that works is not hacking anything. It’s called being lucky. I honestly didn’t care enough to try out all the possible VoIP apps that are out there because I didn’t feel the urgency to chat with anyone. Nor did I want to bother other passengers. I despise loud talkers wherever I am and if I have to be stuck on a plane for any length of time with some jackass yapping away, I sure as hell will let them know I don’t like it.
Aircell released this statement regarding the situation because everyone and their mother is all aflutter about it in the tech space of the Interwebs.
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Now that in-flight internet is becoming a normal option, a certain taboo activity is popping up more and more during those long, lonely flights. A few airlines have taken the issue upon themselves to lock down certain themed sites but that doesn’t rule out already downloaded material. Then other airlines, such as American Airlines, are offering unfiltered service and thus leaving the discretion up to the user — and flight attendants.
It isn’t like attendants don’t have enough to do already, pimping their airlines food and $8 headphones, but now they have to be on the lookout for solo mile-high club attendees. According to a Fox News report, American Airlines feels strongly about not limiting available content and has empowered flight attendants to deal with whatever sticky situations might arise.
“You can well imagine a parent flying with a child seated next to somebody, in the extreme case, seated next to somebody watching pornography.” said Jones. “There’s always going to be someone who probably steps over the line. What’s interesting is, the question is, ‘how do we deal with this person?”
Who in their right mind would think that it’s cool to pop open a laptop and cruise for some fresh Jesse Jane flicks when sitting next to a kid? Seriously. I just hope that when American Airlines say they have empowered flight attendant that the company means that the attendants are armed with tasers for such, um, occasions.
But anyway, in case you haven’t picked up on the side story of this post, American Airlines doesn’t have a filter on their new service. Just so you know.
image source: airlines.net
I guess my mystery device isn’t supported, but I’ll try it out anyway.
I find myself on AA flight #3 headed to LAX from NY’s JFK. Today marks the first day of Aircell’s Gogo inflight service going live for the masses. It will be available on flights from NYC to LA, Miami and San Francisco. The 8AM flight to Miami from JFK is not a 767-200, so those going south won’t be privy to Aircell’s Gogo service.
The flight is full from what I’m told and Aircell had plenty of people on hand at the gate to promote the service. Exactly how many folks will utilize the service is unknown at this point. I’ll be using my MacBook Pro, iPhone 3G and T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve along with one other smartphone that’s Wi-Fi enabled. I’m in economy so it’s going to be a tight squeeze. Hopefully the lady sitting in front of me won’t lean her seat back, but that’s doubtful. I’ve already got my laptop on my lap as is and it’s not pleasant. I wish one of the manufacturers who I requested a sub-notebook/netbook from had gotten back to me. I’m looking at you Lenovo, HP, Asus, MSI and Dell.
The service unavailable splash screen reveals that Gogo won’t work below 10,000 feet and is only available within the continental U.S. I will individually test all my devices and then simultaneously to see what sort of bandwidth I’m getting.
Speed tests after the jump.
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We’ve covered this topic on multiple occasions and, well, today the service is going live for the masses on AA. The Boeing 767-200 aircrafts in AA’s fleet flying from NYC to LA, Miami and San Francisco will have the service flipped on and we’ll be on a flight from JFK to LAX today. Pricing will be $12.95 for flights with a duration of over three hours. Check back at noon EDT for a live blog/review of the service.
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American Airlines is quite possibly the most horrendous airline on the face of the planet. I’m waiting for my flight to LA at Gate 12 in JFK. I was supposed to leave at 7:15 ET, but it’s been pushed out to 7:50 ET. So feel free to swing by and say hello and possibly buy me a beer. Although, I don’t see a bar anywhere around. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that my flight has Aircell’s GoGo service.
Big ups to Samsung for providing me with a Mobile Charging Station!
*Why am I not taking Virgin America?*
Hey, here’s a happy surprise for anyone who may happen to be flying from New York (JFK) and Los Angeles on American Airlines tomorrow. The company will be conducting “a dress rehearsal” of in-flight Wi-Fi service, called GoGo, provided by Aircell.
American has a fleet of 15 767-200 airplanes that have the Wi-Fi connections installed and ready to go, so assuming the flight tomorrow goes off without a hitch it’s expected that the service will be rolled out to flights between New York and Miami and New York and San Francisco over the coming weeks.
Tomorrow’s trial flight will offer the Wi-Fi service free of charge, but once the service is in full swing, it’ll cost $12.95 for flights over three hours and $9.95 for shorter flights.
Aircell announced today the completion of the GoGo network. We’re stoked on this because it means unadulterated (no VoIP) in-flight Wi-Fi. American Airlines recently installed the Aircell ATG system on one their Boeing 767-200 planes. It’s currently being tested and should deploy throughout the fleet sometime this year. Virgin America is also slated to roll out the Aircell service this year. We’re all very exciting and waiting patiently for the service to roll out.
Today Continental announced that they will be offering Wi-Fi, but it will be the same crippled mess that you’ll find on JetBlue. It’s not all bad, though. The agreement with LiveTV will also bring 36 channels of live TV directly to your seat via DirecTV. First-class passengers will receive the service (TV) for free while passengers in economy-class will have to muster up $6. The Wi-Fi service I just mentioned will be free. It’s free because it sucks. I’ll wait for AirCell’s service on American or Virgin America.
Aircell air-to-ground antenna being installed on the Boeing in KC.
Last week Aircell successfully installed their Internet Broadband Connectivity Solution at AA’s Kansas City maintenance facility. The Boeing 767-200 will begin beta testing over the next few weeks pending FAA certifications. The air-to-ground broadband system will provide you with hours of enjoyment provided you take a fancy to LOL Cats, porn without sound or CrunchGear. That’s a tough choice, I know.
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We got a tip that something cool is about to hit. I keep saying that the “no electronic devices on airplanes” thing is crap, and American Airlines, it seems, is seeing my point of view. Starting next year, transcontinental 767-200s will be equipped with Wi-Fi and broadband access via Aircell, who has a similar deal in place with Virgin Airlines. The technology has been around for awhile, and I must say “It’s about damned time.”
It’s a pilot program for now (heh), but if successful, it could ripple through to all of American’s planes. What’s great is AA is offering the service for free. In a world where airlines must charge for a second package of pretzels, they’re giving you Wi-Fi for free 10 bucks a pop. Thank heavens, and thanks American.
More as we hear.
