Saturday 21 November 2009

Air Canada try out in-flight internet access



If you are one of those who can’t bear to parted from the internet even for a minute, and dread passing the time of long haul flight with little to do, then the recent innovation of some airlines to provide internet access in the air will no doubt have come as a welcome development. In-flight internet access using the quaintly named Gogo network is now available on some U.S. airlines, including Virgin America, Delta, AirTran and American Airlines.

The latest airline to get in on the act is Air Canada who have just launched a ten week trial period during which certain flights on the Montreal-Los Angeles and Toronto-Los Angeles routes will offer web access. The price isn’t too bad either, with access costing US$9.95 for laptops and US$7.95 for phones and PDA’s. However, for the time being the service will only be available when flying over the USA.

The whole concept of web access in the air is certainly an exciting development because simply going online must be the perfect way to while away those boring hours of long haul. And who can resist the idea of sending emails to friends and family telling them how good it is to be above the clouds?

No doubt competitors will be carefully watching this move as the opportunity to use the internet while flying will give any airline a serious edge and attract passengers. So how long will we have to wait before this trend makes its way across the Atlantic?

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