US Airways Takes to the Sky with Gogo Inflight Internet

[iheartairbus]

Was on tail# 541 today from MCO-PHX and it was up and running...all the passengers were loving it!! I watched a couple passengers and they were surfing at pretty high speeds.

 

[PHL]

Many of the new netbooks have 6 or more hours of power now. I think we're going to see that as the new norm in all notebook and netbooks. I have a new one that has 9 hours of power. Powering the seats now maybe a useless expense, then again, a useless expess is SO USairways.

How long does your netbook last if you are on WiFi? Those "published" numbers by manufacturers are usually for doing light work, like word processing, etc. The WiFi transmitter/receiver is a battery hog. I can assure you that your netbook won't last "9 hours" if you are surfing the web. I would go so far saying it won't even last 6.

Point of comparison - My MacBook Pro (13") battery is published to last 8 hours. When I'm on a flight without in-seat power, I get about 4 when I watch movies (running on hard drive, not DVD drive).

YMMV.

 

[jimntx]

Can I have an AMEN from the choir? Those battery life claims on most pcs (regardless of size) remind me of the old Monty Python routine about auto tire warranties...

"But, sir. You allowed that tire to touch the ground. That action clearly invalidates the warranty."

With the PC batteries, I'm betting that "it lasts up to 9 hours (see footnote)." The footnote is printed in a miniscule typeface and states that the test was run doing nothing but playing solitaire.

As far as GOGO. It's a nice product. After a couple of bugs got worked out here at AA, it seems to be glitch-free. However, I work First Class a lot. It seems to me that after the initial burst of interest by the road warriors, a lot of them have gone back to using their pcs "off-line" while onboard. I get the feeling, as some on this thread have expressed, that a lot of the users have decided that the service is a little pricey.

Tiered pricing based on flight length was instituted, but I still haven't noticed too much increase in use. Be aware, if you do not make an announcement shortly after takeoff that the service does not work below 10,000ft, a number of them will try to start the service immediately, and then ring their call buttons to complain that it isn't working.

Also...
When we started the test runs (service installed on 767s only), the company advised us that they would make no attempt to block porn sites, and that it would be the f/as responsibility to tell the passenger to turn their screen so that others could not see it. (The reaction of one of the senior flight attendants at St. Louis? "Oh, great. Another reason not to touch the blankets." ) Initial passenger complaints got them to rethink the policy almost immediately, and the system now blocks porn sites.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

It shouldn't be too hard to rip out a few years down the road, as US has done with everything else we have installed over the years. Think Verizon in-flight phones, TV screens, coat closets Business Select.............etc.

In all fairness to US (an how often is that said around here) it was Verizon that pulled the plug on Airphones on all carriers.
Very good points on the rest.

 

[SS255]

WN went with Row 44 because of GoGo's tight grip on everything to do with their service, including minimum pricing and even the sticker beside the door and next to the seat number placards. Ironically, the part of GoGo's pricing that US didn't use are the packages. There's a 24 hour pass for $13 (same as a single flight over 3 hrs) and $30 for 30 days, both for use on a single airline, that would be a reasonable deal for people that flew often or made connections. Most of the airlines that are using GoGo are offering those packages.

Jim

I read the Gogo standard pricing model this AM, and I noticed that, as well. The 24 hour pass is a decent deal, and the $30 pass seems like a no-brainer for road warriors. I just know that my Accounting department would be asking a lot of questions if I tried to put through $13 internet charges on a regular basis, with or without the availability of power ports.

 

[SS255]

Was on tail# 541 today from MCO-PHX and it was up and running...all the passengers were loving it!! I watched a couple passengers and they were surfing at pretty high speeds.

My guess is that most of the people on this flight were taking advantage of the free first-time trial. The true usage will only be known after the trial period ends.

But at least it's good to know that the service works well with heavy usage.

 

[ALPO NO MO]

I ran it one the internet for 6 hours with battery to spare, so I'm doing OK. For movies, I don't want bother of the netbook, I'll just use the iPod.

I will say that using GoGo on Delta, I was able to contact a family member about a possible missed connection and I could track the flight I was connecting to and I learned that it was also arriving late.
It is a good product. My point about not needing to install power in the seats again was due to the fact that the life of a notebook isn't so long that more battery will be the norm and I see more people getting netbooks just for travel.

Can I have an AMEN from the choir? Those battery life claims on most pcs (regardless of size) remind me of the old Monty Python routine about auto tire warranties...

"But, sir. You allowed that tire to touch the ground. That action clearly invalidates the warranty."

With the PC batteries, I'm betting that "it lasts up to 9 hours (see footnote)." The footnote is printed in a miniscule typeface and states that the test was run doing nothing but playing solitaire. Cut Quote"

 

[Travel Is My Life]

I'm glad that inflight wifi is finally taking flight on US. It's just too bad that it's overpriced for flights over 3 hours, with no in-seat power. Hopefully if US sees low usage on longer flights, they'll lower the price point accordingly. Or better yet, maybe Hector will have a justification to have 110V power ports installed. (Would this fall under Hector?)

AirTran doesnt have power ports on their aircraft and people dont complaint. Delta doesnt have power ports on all their WiFi enabled aircraft and people dont complain. Whats your complaint???

 

[SS255]

AirTran doesnt have power ports on their aircraft and people dont complaint. Delta doesnt have power ports on all their WiFi enabled aircraft and people dont complain. Whats your complaint???

I don't fly AirTran or DL, so I don't follow their forums. I just think that any airline which does not provide in-seat power should price wifi with a price cap based upon 2 hours maximum usage time. If this is an Aircell requirement and not a decision made by US to price their wifi according to Aircell's published rates, then US should complain to Aircell if the usage is lower on transcons than on mid-cons.

US is investing a lot of money and resources to add wifi to their 321 fleet. I would think that they would want to maximize usage. It's not a problem of US not having power ports. It's a problem of the price point being too high on certain routes for not having power ports.