Zembla

Oh, quite a few can't, judging from the masses on commuter trains, in bars cafes and restaurants, whilst walking down the street, or whilst in the middle of a meeting or social conversation, who are absently staring at their portable screens...

strikerbird

This is amazing, KLM serving WiFi finally on their short distance flights.

SB

KLflyerRalph

Agree, but would they also PAY for it?

San Gottardo

Fully agree with you.

The point I made is: I want to have a *choice*. If I want to completely disconnect for a couple of hours then I'll just choose not to switch on my stuff. However, if I rather have a calm hour above the clouds to do some research or answer some mails rather than face a heap of them which then need to be answered when I am jetlagged and/or rather want to benefit from the location I have just traveled to, then I want to be able to choose to do that. Some airlines give me that choice, others not. Glad to hear AFKL joins the group of airlines giving me that choice.

Zembla

Agreed. I actually also think it's a good point forward that KL and AF will offer this service. Just crossing my fingers that my boss isn't going to adjust his expectations for when I'm in the sky

mckroes

Well the stewardess gave the mentioned info as a response on a question of a Danish older passenger on board this flight, who asked if wifi was available on board. I do remember Norwegian also offers Wifi onboard during their flights, also shorthaul, which is for free to passengers. http://www.norwegian.com/nl/reisinfo...ormation/wifi/

And since AAL is a destination which is served by Norwegian (6 routes), I guess this passenger was used to getting wifi on board

strikerbird

Not only Norwegian, but also SAS, Scandinavian Airlines.

http://www.sas.no/en/Travel-info/Onboard/Internet/

All EuroBonus has free internet usage.

SB

strikerbird

Any more new from KLM for WiFI trials?

stimpy

Orange just announced that they will do a trial on two AF MH A320 planes this summer. This would include live TV.

http://www.livebox-news.com/2014/11/...ons-air-france

irishguy28

I'm not sure why they are calling it a trial. The technology is proven and is already pretty much standard on some longhaul fleets on other airlines.

If by trial they mean they are testing AFKL passengers' willingness to pay whatever fees they deem necessary for this service, then I hope they are going to look at what their competitors are charging.

Hopefully the Live TV would be free - as it is on any other carrier that I've seen it offered on.

Also - wouldn't it make more sense to add the WiFi to longhaul planes, rather than the "short- and medium-haul" A320s mentioned? I suppose that the Live TV would be a good addition for such planes - no entertainment is currently provided on these planes - but I feel WiFi demand comes into its own only on longhaul. Most people can get by for a couple of hours (short/medium haul) without feeling the need to pay a fairly blistering hourly (or 24-hourly) fee for WiFi access.

stimpy

As satellite has fallen out of favor for these services, you can't really do this on long haul. These are ground-based systems and you have to have the radios on the ground, in each country you pass over.

irishguy28

I'd be very interested to know what system Orange/Air France proposes to use.

EDIT: According to the Air France press release, it's a satellite system

I've only ever encountered "land-based" inflight WiFi in the States. For carriers like Etihad and Aer Lingus, where they spend a lot of time over water, such land-based systems are pointless, and are not used.

I'd have assumed that any airline that doesn't have a large domestic market (such as the US provides for its airlines) would instead use a satellite based system.

Of course, for Air France to install wifi on only short/medium-haul, a land-based solution would be sufficient for most routes. But it would mean that they would require a separate, second solution for long-haul craft. Is that the best way to proceed?

irishguy28

From the Air France website:

stimpy

I'm first thought this was Orange networks, which would naturally be ground based as Orange operates networks in something like 30 countries. But if it's just OBS with AF doing the heavy lifting, then I guess it's AF's choice. But I'm surprised because satellite systems were dropped years ago by LH, NH and others because of the drag on the airplane costing a fortune in fuel. Maybe they have a more efficient system now?

I used to use the Lufthansa satellite-based WiFi ( from Boeing Connexion) about a decade or so ago on every flight I took to the US. It was a great service and I was sorry when they got rid of it.

irishguy28

I don't think Lufthansa uses a ground-to-air system - they state, about FlyNet coverage:

No land-based system could give this type of global coverage....

(I wouldn't worry about the uncoloured ocean areas - many are points that are not traversed by Lufthansa, meaning coverage in a lot of these areas is of no concern to the airline, and therefore we cannot deduce too much from their lack of highlighting. Though I suspect that the far-southern Atlantic Ocean, and the Southern Pacific, are relatively far-less travelled by aircraft than the northern regions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and therefore there is little to no demand at present for coverage in such areas. Some of the gaps could also be explained by the directionality/footprints of the satellites used, or simply places that are not yet covered. Perhaps the only unusual gaps are those that jut into the Indian Ocean, and the one on the Tasman Sea.

That China is shown uncoloured is surely more to do with the system being "illegal" in this country, rather than the fact that the entirety of its territory is not covered by such systems (though, there may very well be coverage gaps there, as there is little point dedicating satellites to cover a landmass where the system is presently not allowed)).