Satellite Industry Wants U.S. Airlines to Offer In-flight Communications
The satellite industry is trying to reignite the in- flight communications debate. “We are distressed that broadband connectivity seems to be happening outside the U.S.,” said Paul Domorski, CEO of EMS Technologies, which installs satellite antennas on airplanes. EMS sponsored a Tuesday panel in which participants said passengers want to be able to communicate. “It is not about the person behind you yakking away but rather it is about being connected,” Domorski said.
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The beauty of in-flight communications is that it makes passengers reachable, said OnAir CEO Benoit Debains. With seat-back phones, it was one way, Debains said. OnAir has announced several partnerships with foreign airlines to offer in-flight communications, he said.
Six trials in the U.S. are under way, four using satellites to offer in-flight communications, said Richard Owen, executive director of the World Airline Entertainment Association. These tests will determine which airlines offer in-flight communications, Owen said.
But roadblocks impede in-flight communications. The FCC and Federal Aviation Administration restrict the use of cellphones on commercial airplanes but not corporate aircraft. That must change, said Inmarsat President Michael Butler. He said regulatory relief would level the playing field between corporate jet passengers and executives relegated to commercial.
The business model isn’t proven. The airlines recall Connexion by Boeing, a failed in-flight communications system repurposed to offer high-speed Internet and satellite TV to the U.S. Air Force’s VIP/Special Air Mission fleet (CD Jan 17 p9). Getting passengers to pay for services midflight is tricky, said Gary Hebb, EMS vice president and general manager. “The antenna for JetBlue’s LiveTV service isn’t the hard thing -- getting the money from the passenger is the hard part,” Hebb said.
Besides offering free live TV via DirecTV, JetBlue has equipped a plane, called “betaBlue,” to offer free BlackBerry and Yahoo mail. The point of betaBlue is to see if a business case exists for in-flight communications, said Brett Muney, JetBlue’s general manager of product development. “I have yet to see a business model that works,” Muney said. “I am not convinced that everybody wants to be connected all the time.” Continental Airlines last week said it will use JetBlue’s subsidiary LiveTV to offer satellite TV free to first class passengers starting next year. Coach passengers will pay $6 for TV, but e-mail and in-flight Wi-Fi will be free to all.
JetBlue passengers have said they don’t want voice made available, Muney said. But Butler and David Coiley, director of marketing and strategic relationships for AeroMobile, said they believe voice will keep ruling the communications market on the ground and in the air. AeroMobile’s service allows a crew to decide which services can be used when. For example, on overnight flights voice might be turned off, he said.
AeroMobile encourages airline partners to “promote appropriate phone etiquette,” Coiley said. If that doesn’t work, all systems discussed during the panel come equipped with some control on the bandwidth a passenger can use.
Qantas Airlines is testing in-flight communications using AeroMobile gear. The trial has been wildly successful, said Domorski and Coiley. People are flying more often and longer, so they want access to the same devices and uses as on the ground, Coiley said.
AeroMobile has proven that its technology doesn’t interfere with the aircraft’s navigation system or the land- based cellular networks, Coiley said. “There is no compelling reason why cellphones can’t be used in the air,” Domorski said.