British Airways (BA) has become the second European airline after
Lufthansa to agree to test a high-speed Internet service for
aircraft supplied by Boeing.
BA will test the Internet-in-the-sky technology, called Connexion
by Boeing, for a period of three months beginning in February 2003,
Boeing said.
The service uses satellites positioned 35,000km high to send and
receive data from transceivers mounted on airplanes travelling at
900km per hour.
The in-flight broadband technology will allow travellers to use
their notebooks to surf the Web, send e-mail or even view live TV
broadcasts.
Lufthansa, which agreed to test the in-flight Internet technology,
plans a "live trial" in January 2003, a company spokesman said.
"We have, meanwhile, equipped a 747 airplane, named Sachsen-Anhalt,
with the satellite transceiver and other gear and are now waiting
for Boeing to provide seamless satellite coverage across the
Atlantic," the spokesman said. "At present, the company can't offer
us this."
Initially, Lufthansa plans to offer in-flight Internet service on
its Frankfurt-Washington route, the spokesman said.
Boeing is in talks with satellite operators to acquire transponder
capacity and with radio frequency officials to receive licences for
sending and receiving data over the airwaves, a spokesman for
Boeing said.
"We expect to have the necessary satellite capacity and radio usage
licences in the coming months," he added.
However, Connexion by Boeing has not had a smooth take-off. Aside
from the delay in securing trans-Atlantic satellite capacity and
radio licences, in November 2001 the service lost its first three
airline partners.
The partners, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United
Airlines withdrew their financial support, citing severe financial
losses following the 11 September terrorist attacks in the US.