Demand has slowed for in-flight Internet connectivity, but some airlines are pushing forward with their programmes and the suppliers continue to refine their product offerings
A year ago, it seemed the Airbus-affiliated Tenzing Communications had moved ahead in the race to equip international passenger aircraft with e-mail and Internet connectivity systems - but now Connexion by Boeing appears to have overtaken it by a nose.
In mid-January, Lufthansa, the only certain Connexion customer this time last year, begins a three-month trial of the Boeing broadband Internet system aboard a Boeing 747-400 serving Frankfurt-Washington Dulles. About a month later, British Airways will also begin a three-month trial of the system on a 747-400 flying the heavily travelled London-New York route.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines, which once wore Tenzing colours, has signed a memorandum of understanding to install the Connexion system on 11 long-haul aircraft in 2004. Boeing is also working with Japan Airlines to extend last year's letter of intent into a formal agreement that would make the carrier Connexion's Asian launch customer, with installation on 10 of its long-haul aircraft envisioned.
So far, though, Cathay Pacific Airways is the only carrier offering its passengers inflight e-mail service, and is using the Tenzing system. The narrowband system uses existing telephony to create an onboard local area network and existing radios to create the air-to-ground network. Cathay has also installed General Dynamics equipment to produce a high-speed data network allowing all passengers to access their e-mail simultaneously from the onboard server. Without the additional equipment, only 24 passengers could have used the e-mail service at the same time.
Cathay's passengers plug into the system at their seats through their laptops and are charged $9.95 per 24 hours to check the headers on their e-mails. To upload or send a message, there is an additional charge which varies according to the size of the message. Cathay is installing the system in all first- and business-class seats and about one-third of its economy seats.
The Tenzing system, first installed more than a year ago, is now in operation in 40 of Cathay's fleet of 78 aircraft. The carrier at first allocated the equipment on its shorter-haul Asian flights to keep it closer to home so it could work out any technical difficulties. They now also operate on some routes to London and Australia. Cathay will begin offering the system on flights to New York and Los Angeles by the end of March and to San Francisco by the autumn.
Tenzing, whose investors include Airbus, Rockwell Collins, Cathay and half a dozen others, had originally lined up a number of important airline customers, but the list has been pared, reflecting continuing uncertainty in the air travel market, the reduction in premium travel, changing market and economic conditions, the health of individual carriers and their evolving priorities. Internal questions are being raised about how much to spend on new in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, and there is continuing uncertainty over which technologies to embrace.
Air Canada, which completed a successful test phase of the Tenzing system on five Boeing 767s early last year, has put plans for Internet access with Tenzing on hold, largely because of the fallout from 11 September. "We had overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers, but we're operating in a different environment now," says an Air Canada official. "We're being very judicious about where investment is made."
Loss of momentum
Varig Brazilian Airlines, another Tenzing customer, tested the system with great fanfare and intended to put it, along with the Matsushita Avionics System MAS 3000 IFE programme, on its new Boeing 777s. But the carrier is now in serious financial shape and has taken just two sets, saying it has more important things to worry about.
Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways had both expected to install the Tenzing system, integrating it with new MAS 3000 IFE units, but both have scrapped plans to install full e-mail and Internet capability, at least for now, opting for less expansive capability. Each has installed a short messaging system which allows passengers to send short messages but not long e-mails.
In September, Singapore launched a trial of its new short message service (SMS) capability through its MAS 3000 IFE system on a mix of 10 Boeing 747-400s and 777s. Travellers can send, at no charge, short messages of up to 160 characters to any mobile phone user or e-mail address using the in-seat handset or personal monitors on aircraft that are equipped with touch screens.
Veronique Blanc, director for passenger & cabin communications with SITA, which is Singapore's satellite service provider for ground/air communications, says there is a lot of interest in SMS from airlines because their aircraft are already equipped with the Inmarsat communications links that support the function. Offering a short-text message service - part of SITA's mobile strategy - allows the passenger to operate in much the same way he or she would at home or on the ground, says Blanc.
SITA has also launched an upgraded capability for Inmarsat service that substantially increases the bandwith offered to support new capabilities, including passenger e-mail. "It's not as much as Connexion, but we think it's a more affordable way to go because it leverages the existing infrastructure and requires a fairly small upgrade," says Blanc.
Singapore's partner Virgin Atlantic has also launched a short text e-mail capability using technology from its service provider ARINC, in association with Tenzing, on MAS 3000 IFE-equipped aircraft. Passengers can send a 160-character SMS using a "virtual keyboard" displayed on the entertainment screen in every seat of equipped aircraft.
ARINC says the message is sent almost instantaneously over a satellite link on its GLOBALink network, with a Tenzing delivery system on the ground forwarding it to a recipient's cell phone or inbox. Virgin charges $2.50 for the outgoing message and hopes to launch reply capability early this year.
By mid-December, the SMS capability was installed in a Virgin 747-400 and three new Airbus A340-600s and will be extended progressively to its remaining 747s and A340-300s. Two of the first four equipped aircraft are operating transatlantic flights and two are on Asian routes. The SMS capability is also going into every seat - not just premium class. "There is a lot of focus on the business traveller, but we think SMS and video on demand should be available across all cabins," says Virgin.
Lufthansa trial
Lufthansa is also making the Connexion by Boeing system available to every seat in all cabins of the 747-400 for its three-month trial, set to begin on 15 January. The carrier will offer the Internet capability, which it is calling Lufthansa FlyNet, free of charge to all customers during the trial. It has even bought 50 state-of-the-art Lifebook S6010 laptop computers from Fujitsu Siemens to lend to passengers who do not have their own laptop.
Lufthansa FlyNet manager Burkard Wigger says the high-end notebook will provide the ideal working conditions for the "mobile office" it wants to create on-board for the trial. To avoid security concerns, any information stored on the computer will be deleted automatically when it is rebooted.
Although seats are hard-wired for the system, the whole aircraft also has a wireless local area network to enable passengers to use wireless devices. "This is a genuine trial," says a Lufthansa official. "It's dip your toe in the water and see what happens." Among the questions the German flag carrier hopes to answer through statistics and passenger surveys are how many passengers will use the Internet capability, how much they are willing to pay and how they will pay.
The BA trial will be somewhat different. The connectivity capability is being installed in its three premium classes - First, Club World and World Traveller Plus - but not in its regular economy section. BA also anticipates charging for the service during the trial, with a price of £20 ($31) per flight being discussed.
There is no doubt Connexion works. Boeing has been roaming the world with Connexion One, a Boeing 737-400 fully equipped to show off the broadband Internet capability to airlines and the press. It has even conducted several air-to-ground video conferences, including one during a post-Farnborough air show flight test over England which linked Connexion by Boeing president Scott Carson and British Airways senior manager product change Kevin George with Connexion officials in Seattle.
While Boeing and airline officials decline to discuss the cost of installing and operating a Connexion system, no one disputes that it is significantly more expensive than the Tenzing system - some say five or six times more - which relies largely on the aircraft's existing infrastructure. Tenzing and its partners have said a future phase will provide broadband connectivity, including Internet, live television and airline operational applications.
Connexion by Boeing relies on the installation of new hardware, including a new antenna, and Ku-band satellite communications links to deliver more bandwith. "Connexion is buying space on satellites, which means fixed costs, but revenues will depend on passengers," says one industry observer. "It presents a business model which has to be validated. You need to know that passenger demand will be strong enough to pay for the investment."
Because the Ku-band has not been licensed globally for aircraft use before, Boeing has been applying to national licensing authorities for authorisation to use a range of Ku-band radio frequencies for Connexion on a temporary basis. Boeing plans to approach the International Telecommunications Union in June for global approval.
Three major US airlines - American, Delta and United - were originally aligned with Boeing in a joint venture to develop the Connexion programme, but withdrew their financial support a few months after 11 September. They and other US carriers have pretty much been sitting on the sidelines while some of their competitors begin equipping aircraft with e-mail connectivity and SMS capabilities.
US airlines have shown little interest in new inflight entertainment systems. "It's simply a cost function," says American Airlines. The carrier's recent investment in the sector has been limited largely to providing power ports in all fleet types. There are power ports in every seat in first and business class and they are spread throughout the economy cabins. Besides plugging in laptops, American finds many passengers use the power ports to recharge their turned-off mobile phones during flights.
The competition
Besides Tenzing and Boeing, other companies hoping to get a piece of the action include:
AirTV, which says it plans a phased approach to global connectivity, beginning with the distribution of news directly to aircraft using a network of four geostationary S-Band satellites. E-mail and Internet services would be next, to be tested by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Alitalia, says the New York-based company. Verizon Airfone, which has installed its JetConnect in-flight data service on several aircraft. The Oak Brook, Illinois-based company says up to 46 passengers on a flight can simultaneously access the service, which offers instant messages, online games and news, by plugging their laptops into jacks on the Verizon Airfone handset on aircraft already equipped. AIRIA, an Inmarsat Ventures company, which plans live TV trials next year on a business jet with a view to launching a service for long-haul carriers. The London-based company is also partnered with Tenzing to provide an integrated group of live television and e-mail services to airlines. Although progress has slowed on the demand side, suppliers continue to refine their products for the day when connecting passengers with the ground becomes a vital airline customer service priority.CAROLE SHIFRIN IN WASHINGTON
Source: Airline Business
