First time here? Check out the site's "greatest hits" or read a random post from the archives. Feel free to ask a question, and consider subscribing to the latest posts via RSS or e-mail. Thanks for visiting!

Wireless internet access on board commercial aircraft is closer than ever to reality in American airspace. Intercontinental travelers on a number of non-US airlines (e.g., Singapore, Lufthansa, Asiana, Etihad, SAS, Korean …) have already been enjoying inflight internet access through Boeing’s Connexion service, which connects planes to satellites.

Now, however, two companies are poised to offer inflight wi-fi in the U.S. market. AirCell and LiveTV (a division of JetBlue) won sections of broadcast spectrum in Federal Communications Commission auction last week. AirCell promises to deliver air-to-ground access by early 2007, with a consumer cost expected to be about $10 per flight. Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean countries are lining up for similar services. No word yet on individual airlines signing up with either firm.

The appeal of inflight internet is huge, since the internet serves both the business traveler and the leisure traveler. (Though not everyone has a laptop…) The possibility exists as well to allow for phone calls in flight through one of these services. However, some airlines, like Frontier, are planning to introduce inflight wi-fi, but to block voice over IP services like Skype.

Maybe I’ll be posting at 600 mph sooner than I thought.

Wi-fly
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has started auctioning the licenses for the eventual rights to inflight internet and voice-over-IP (VOIP) service. Too late to join the bidding, but watch the breathtaking action here.

Let ‘em fly!
Most brilliant invention ever: The charcoal seat pad. Great for home, office, and travel! Take it on your next flight and flatulate with impunity! (via RoadGladiator)

Birds fly high with JetBlue
If a bird is flying inside a plane traveling 550mph, how fast is that bird traveling? Ask JetBlue. Two lovebirds (the birds, not amorous couples) got loose on board a flight to San Juan last week.

Babies fly high(er) on KLM
Bassinets on the bulkhead? No surprise there, but look at the altitude of this bassinet! I can only imagine the surprise of travelers exiting that lavatory to be greeted by the cherubic grin of an unbuckled infant. (via Jaunted)

Pigs fly at Southwest
The apocalypse must be near. As part of an upgrade to its reservations system, Southwest Airlines is considering allowing advance seat assignments. I’ll begin taking bets on WILMA or Reverse Pyramid boarding once it’s official.

Front page stories about standing room seats won’t fly again
Remember the standing-room-only seat story? The New York Times offered a lengthy explanation of how they screwed up in printing it on page one when the project was in fact abandoned. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that this idea was, at least at one point, real. Abandoned, yes, but it was on the table. Okay, hopefully that’s the end of that subject…

tags: travel | air travel | inflight internet | voip | flatulence | JetBlue | Southwest | airlines | KLM

The story that won’t go away: Standing seats, re-re-redux
Christopher Elliott, who wrote the now-controversial article for the NYT, publishes the proof that these seats actually existed on his blog. His photo republished here. Semi-retraction or not, I still think this was a trial balloon. The reaction being negative, we won’t see stand-up seats. Yet…

Standing inflight would keep your attire looking sharp. But if you’re crumpled and sweaty, earn some miles. Delta introduces SkyMiles Drycleaning. I’m not kidding. (Well, technically they call it SkyMiles Clothing Care, but still.)

Delta, and clothing, again
New uniforms for frontline staff. And why not: This is the airline that had Kate Spade-designed uniforms for their Song subsidiary. But is bankruptcy the best time to be shelling out the moolah for new threads?

Airport advertising
Taking a cue from the film “Minority Report,” Accenture has installed a giant touchscreen billboard at Chicago O’Hare’s terminal 3. Pretty cool, but when it comes to ads at O’Hare, I’ll always look back fondly on the billboards that read “Get Veal Satisfaction.”

Onboard wireless
Nine companies are bidding for a segment of the radio spectrum which could be used for inflight wireless — phone, internet, whatever. The two latest entrants: JetBlue, and the original holder of the spectrum, Verizon AirFone. It sounds like there will be some competition for Boeing’s Connexion and Inmarsat’s less well-known SwiftBroadband.

Collect them all!
Conde Nast Traveler’s Top 130 new hotels. A new hotel every three days. (The cheaper rooms on the list — sub-$200 — are listed here.)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, inflight internet access is popular. According to a survey of 3200 high-frequency travelers commissioned by Boeing, 83% of respondents would consider online access to be a key factor in deciding which airline to fly. (Currently, ANA, Asiana, China Airlines, El Al, Etihad Airways, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, SAS, and Singapore Airlines offer Boeing’s Connexion service. United is rolling out a Verizon-powered service over North America in the near future.)

94% of respondents who had used the service reported that they would use it again.

tags: travel | air travel | inflight internet | Connexion

USA Today’s Ben Mutzabaugh follows up the recent fracas over possible cellphone use in flight by contacting individual airlines and asking them what their policy on cellphones is.

The roundup:

AirTran: no to voice
Alaska: not sure yet
American: hedges, noncommittal
Continental: no comment
Delta: not sure yet
Frontier: hedges, noncommittal
JetBlue: yes to silent mode/texting, no to voice
Northwest: not sure yet
United: yes to wi-fi, no to voice
USAirways: not sure yet

Conspicuously absent from the list: Southwest. (The singing of “Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round” will remain permitted, encouraged, and complimentary, though.)

Consider writing to your air carrier of choice with your views on the matter, too. So many of these companies say they’re “listening to their customers,” so they need to hear from you.

tags: travel | air travel | cellphones | inflight wireless

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) rehashes the recent report that cellphones cause interference to aircraft navigation instruments. (previously discussed here and here)

The real nugget in the article, though, is this:

Do travelers really want to gab inflight? Of 8,000 comments to the FCC when it proposed dropping its ban, only two or three were in favor. The rest, except for the 50 or so technical reports, were from travelers vociferously opposed, arguing that airplanes should be a refuge from calls and emails. Flight attendant unions are also opposed, fearing obnoxious phone habits could lead to air-rage incidents.

That’s quite a supermajority opposed to cellphones inflight. Count me in, unless the loud talkers are relegated to a private area in the back of the plane.

The opposition to e-mail doesn’t make as much sense to me — if planes are equipped with internet access, passengers will have the choice to read/write e-mail, or not. It’s not really any different than typing a manuscript on your laptop, and is hardly intrusive on your neighbors. Phone conversations are a different matter entirely.

tags: travel | air travel | inflight cellphones

Inflight cellphone use, though prohibited, happens:

Researchers monitoring flights in the Northeast found that several cellphone calls are typically made on commercial flights during takeoff or final approach, two critical flight stages when accidents could occur.

The fact that people occasionally cheat, violating FAA and FCC rules, is not a surprise. How often have you seen a flight attendant remind a passenger to turn off their phone or other electronic device?

I have always gone along with the directive, shutting everything down, even though I thought it was probably overblown. The cynic in me assumed that this was a way for the airlines to get you to use the Verizon Airfone in the seatback (or the inflight wi-fi). After all, how could a laptop or PDA bring down a Boeing? And if the electronics are THAT sensitive, wouldn’t there be risk for the duration of the flight, and not just during the climb and descent? But this bit in the article gives pause:

Granger Morgan, head of Carnegie Mellon’s Department of Engineering and Public Policy Department, said the activity recorded shows that the use of electronic devices should be limited on airplanes. Morgan said the disruptions are enough to impact a plane’s navigation or other systems.

Yikes! But how disruptive, exactly? I guess we’ll have to wait for the latest issue of IEEE Spectrum to hit the newsstands.

Update: IEEE Spectrum’s article is available here. Notable highlights:

Our data and the NASA studies suggest to us that there is a clear and present danger: cellphones can render GPS instrument useless for landings.
[…]
In one telling incident, a flight crew stated that a 30-degree navigation error was immediately corrected after a passenger turned off a DVD player and that the error reoccurred when the curious crew asked the passenger to switch the player on again. Game electronics and laptops were the culprits in other reports in which the crew verified in the same way that a particular PED caused erratic navigation indications.

Yikes!!

tags: travel | air travel | cellphones

On MSNBC.com, Adam Hunter sounds the alarm again that cellphone use may soon be permitted in flight within the United States. It’s still up to two separate federal agencies — the FAA and the FCC — to come to agreement before cellphone users can burn through their minutes.

Phones have been on board for years, most commonly the Verizon Airfones that are installed in the backs of seats. The cost of making a call has been a deterrent, even when subscribers to a company cellphone plan get a discount.

I certainly sympathize with Hunter’s fear that we’ll soon be hearing more annoying chatter in the cabin. The poll associated with his article, while unscientific, shows that most people agree that cellphones are unwelcome inside aluminum tubes that hurtle through the air at over 500 mph.

But even if normal land-based cellphones are not approved (which I bet WILL happen), wi-fi in flight IS increasingly a reality. Several international carriers have installed Connexion by Boeing on their planes, which allows passengers to purchase high-speed wireless internet access for the duration of their flight. The planes are equipped with a wireless hub and a satellite connection.

Already today, a passenger flying, say, Asiana Airlines from Seoul to Seattle could buy a day pass for “Asiana Airnet,” then plug in a headset, fire up Skype or Net2Phone or any other VoIP service, and start making calls. Perfectly legally.

The next logical step is wi-fi enabled phones on board. In fact, they’re already being tested.

Granted, these are both currently more cumbersome than just dialing your existing cellphone, but the technology is here. Cellphones may be prohibited, but VoIP in the sky is coming.

tags: travel | air travel | connexion | VoIP | cellphones