A Flying Office Becomes a Reality: 30,000 Feet & Open for Business

A flying office at 30,000 feet has now become possible with the addition of Wi-Fi service aboard select routes aboard American Airlines’ Boeing 767-200 aircraft. First flight check is on American’s New York to Los Angeles flights, with future test routes to include San Francisco and Miami Passengers. For a fee, travelers now have the opportunity to access email and the Internet while in route, which could prove valuable for business travelers.

This new Gogo service by Aircell LLC is available for $9.95 for flights under three hours and $12.95 for flights three+ hours. This is a very reasonable fee for either pleasure or work in my opinion, especially considering this technology has not been previously available. 

American is the first domestic airline to make an airborne workstation available via its partner Aircell. Other airlines considering unveiling Internet connectivity include Virgin America, who is also installing Aircell’s gogo technology for a late 2008 roll out and JetBlue is testing a different system.

According to the Gogo Web site, it supports lap tops and many handheld devices including the iPhone, different Blackberry models, T-Mobile Dash, and others. No voice activated services will be authorized during flight. While this list looks inclusive, it raises concern for me as a Blackberry Verizon Wireless user as I do not see Verizon listed except with a Samsung product. I have found this same issue when sailing on cruise ships offering Wi-Fi connection service…Verizon was not one of the partners at the time, so the Blackberry while it has the capability rendered itself useless at sea. 

According to Forrester’s “Surfing Aloft: Airline Passengers Want In-Flight Internet Access” January 2008 report, “US leisure airline passengers - for whom in-flight Internet access is discretionary and self-funded - show strong interest in going online, even on flights as short as an hour. In fact, the report reveals that 15% of passengers traveling aboard short flights, such as a shuttle to/from New York and Boston, want online access. This number surges to 55% for longer flights of 4+ hours. When asked about pricing, the majority of respondents said “free”; 45% said they would pay $10 for flights 4+ hours in duration.

While this access can make a flight even more productive for a business person, I always enjoyed a few non-interrupted hours during flight time to work on strategic planning, catch up on documents needing review, or even at times reading that book which had been collecting dust since Christmas. Knowing I can check my email or be online if I WANT to be could turn out to be a lifesaver, but knowing I do NOT have to be 100% accessible is nice too. It’s a choice. 

I am curious though and if I’m on one of American’s flights where the service is offered, I will definitely try it out to check out connection speed and dependability…if we hit turbulence is the signal dropped? I know it’s not like a cell phone, but still, what is the reliability?