Years ago, it used to be a rare sight – seeing someone logged on to MSN in the middle of a random flight. The reason being; Wi-Fi connections were pretty rare and they were also an expensive venture for air travel companies.
On the contrary, travelers also used to get confused as to which planes to go for. They were never too sure about Wi-Fi connections on a specific air travel company, that’s why there wasn’t a lot of demand for Wi-Fi. Plus, travelers also need to know the type of DC power adapters that were needed to be brought on the plane.
All but only a limited number of planes in the U.S. offered Wi-Fi service – called Gogo from Itasca – III based Aircell. Over, 2,800 aircrafts use Gogo service by eight carriers and it is continuing to expand slowly. Row 44 is another medium that provides online Wi-Fi connection and it gets all signals from satellites and ground radio tower connections.
Row 44 is facing tough competition against other companies. Aircell is a noticeable rival among them because Row44 lost Alaska Airlines to Aircell in the last year. Aircell also has a nice laid back track record with other companies and carriers.
Airline Wi-Fi
Airline Wi-Fi status Laptop Price
Air Canada Limited A319 aircraft $9.95 (US)
AirTran All flights $4.95 – $12.95
Alaska Airlines Select flights; full fleet by end of year free through 7/31
American Airlines “All 767-200s, select MD80s, soon on 737s”
Continental Airlines Tested
Delta Air Lines More than 500 aircraft $4.95 – $12.95
JetBlue BetaBlue test of limited access free
Southwest 6 planes testing prices of $2-$12 per segment
United Airlines 13 planes on transcontinental flights
US Airways Select A321s $4.95 – $12.95
Virgin America All flights $4.95 – $12.95
Source: Computerworld
Both Aircell and Row44 are constantly working and updating their standards to enforce a better quality of service to Wi-Fi clients.
