Does AA allow using smartphone to make Skype phone calls via onboard WiFi?
 

Does AA allow using smartphone to make Skype phone calls via onboard WiFi?

Searching "wifi" on AA.com, I found the page describing the service

https://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/gogo.jsp

Notable here is:

Cheers.

Not now, and I certainly hope not ever...

Regards

Thanks for the link to that page... :)

What about VOIP applications on laptops? (such as Skype and/or Vonage softphone)

There are ways to make VoIP calls on GoGo. If your company uses a VoIP phone that can be accessed over a VPN, you can make calls on it. I've used it to check my voicemail before, but not to call people because I think it would piss off everyone around you.

The Gogo instructions in the seatback pocket mention that you stick to email and "respectful browsing" and not make voice calls or conferencing. I'm hoping that's AA policy.

I've tried checking voicemail and the sound is often choppy, but this was not via VPN.

Right. It's not a question of breaking the lock, because that can always be done. It's a question of "what's the policy," and "what is considerate of others." The answers on both of these are very clear.

Cheers.

Also was curious about the Gogo testimonials on the AA website:

"I am onboard AA179 JFK to SFO today with GoGo up and running. Very easy to use, performance surprisingly good so far. Way better than the typical hotel "high speed" internet and better than the performance in most ACs."

Are they referring to internet on other aircraft, or to internet in the Admirals Club?

using VOIP to talk on a plane isn't necessarily rude...... heck, I was on a flight last week from SFO to JFK. Two women on the opposite side of first class kept talking during the entire flight. They were so loud that I could hear every word they spoke. The only time they stopped was when one of them had to use the loo. :(

When the FA asked them "nicely" to keep it down... they responded by saying that they paid full fare first class tickets and shoudl be treated accordingly, not the riff-raffs who got into first class using upgrades. Where's the FAM in first class when you need one? :mad:

Probably they meant the Admirals Clubs. Otherwise they would have stated the type of aircraft and probably written out "aircraft" and not "ACs".

People viewing the use of VOIP as rude does not in any way make what the two women were doing more acceptable.

Exactly. VoIP is annoying. Apparently, so were those women. I think anyone on the other end of a VoIP-from-the-plane call should expect to hear that sound of strangulation coming through the link.

Cheers.

No, hell no.

Nevermind that it's specifically prohibited - it's a great way to instantly have the entire plane hate you.

Imagine how much fun it would be it half of the airplane were on VOIP.

A lot of airlines offer in-seat telephones. Emirates offers roaming cell coverage on most of their aircraft. Granted, these services are expensive enough that I have rarely seen anybody use them, which makes them a whole lot less annoying than if the entire plane of was on WiFi. But I've been in situations similar to SusanYVR where one person sitting in F decides that it is absolutely paramount that in addition to her friend across the aisle, the entire F cabin must know every detail behind her wedding planning.

Situations like that bother me more than in-flight telephones. The phones already exist, and nobody uses them. And I don't think enough people pay for GoGo that it would be a problem even if it were allowed. And well, if somebody REALLY wants to use it, the block is very easy to get around. FWIW, Facetime on the iPhone 4 works in-flight.

Trust me, if passengers could yak with their friends for 5 hours on a transcon for $12.50, the Gogo usage would go way up.

Strangulation seems extreme for VOIP smartphone usage on the plane. Flushing would be more appropriate, IMO.