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. → Read More
Go on. Give it a try. You have until March 14. Virgin America → Read More
Airline fares? Yeah, I’m telling you about discount fares on Virgin America because it’s the geekiest domestic airline out there right now. No need to use SeatGuru to find out which seats have outlets because every seat on VA has an outlet. RED is a pretty badass in-flight entertainment suite considering you don’t have to pay for it like you would on other airlines. Oh, and wait until AirCell’s in-flight Wi-Fi service is up and running on VA and you’ll never want to fly anyone else. Well, what are you waiting for? You could be waiting for them to open up shop in your area, which is understandable. I’ll let it slide for now. If you live in SD, SF, LA, LV, SEA*, DC or NYC just be sure to book by 2/22 and fly by 5/21. *Service to and from Seattle doesn’t start till next month. Virgin America → Read More
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. Press Release → Read More
Over the weekend at Sundance, Paris Hilton was introduced to Virgin America’s all encompassing handset and was apparently blown away. How has she not been on a VA flight yet? I take Branson’s latest baby everywhere I go. Everywhere they travel, that is. VA, please add Portland, OR so I don’t have to take Frontier Air back to NYC. Anyway, Director of Inflight Entertainment and Partnerships, Charles Ogilvie and Paris seemed to hit it off. Paris even went as far as telling Charlie that she’s a fan of mobile technology and text messaging. She also seems to be pretty keen on being a guest for VA’s first in-flight Wi-Fi excursion, which is slated for some time this year. Yeah, so am I. Get in line, biotch. → Read More
The Web is coming to your airplane seat, real soon. And not just e-mail and IM on one JetBlue plane. Starting in March, I am told, American Airlines will start offering Web access on-board, followed shortly by Virgin America. Both will use an air-to-ground system from Aircell. (Boeing’s failed Connexion broadband in the air service, in contrast, was an unwieldy satellite system). Alaska Airlines also has plans to offer Web service next year, but I believe that is a satellite-based system as well. Inside the plane, some of these will be Wi-Fi. Newer planes, like Virgin America’s, that already have Ethernet jacks at every seat, will have both wired and wireless connectivity. Both plan on charging $10 a flight for Web access. I know I’d pay that. But it could be worth a lot more to them to offer it for free, and use it to build loyalty. Virgin America, in particular, has more to gain by offering its Web access for free. I personally have already started flying Virgin America (AKA the Blogger’s Airline) just because I know I will have an electrical plug no matter what seat I get. If I could get free Internet access, I wouldn’t fly any other airline. I am sure there are enough other frequent flyers out there who feel the same. Enough to keep Virgin America’s planes full, which is the only way you make money in the airline business, not by squeezing another $10 from each passenger with a laptop or an iPhone. They can also subsidize the Internet access with ads. → Read More
Remember how I said Virgin America was ‘eh’, well, now you can decide for yourself. VA just shot me an e-mail with a coupon code for 25 percent off all flights booked by December 7th for travel between November 26th and March 19, 2008. There are a few blackout dates: November 21 and 25, 2007, December 19, 2007 through January 6, 2008, February 14, 15 and 18, 2008. This applies to Main Cabin purchases. → Read More
