Mar 4, 2014, 11:03 am
Last edit by: Prospero
International satellite-based Wi-Fi is available on the Boeing 777-200ER, 777-300ER and 787 Dreamliners
International WiFi is Panasonic Ku band satellite based (and is blocked in Chinese air space). Note, the latest batch of 787-8s have Viasat high speed satellite wifi
Link to WiFi page on AA.com.
International Wi-Fi is currently only available for purchase once onboard the aircraft at the following prices:
. . . . . . . . 2 Hour Pass – $12
. . . . . . .. .4 Hour Pass – $17
. . . . . . . . Duration of Flight Pass – $19
Which aircraft are equipped with international Panasonic WiFi?
Boeing 737 MAX 8 (all, "out of the box”; 737-800s will be covered as they are retrofitted to 172 seat capacity)
Boeing 777-300ER (all, "out of the box")
Boeing 777-200ER (added during refurbishment, all flying have it)
Boeing 787-8 (first batch only)
Boeing 787-9 all, ("out of the box")
Adding
134 Airbus A320 family (319, -20 and -21) according to member tdedj1
International WiFi is Panasonic Ku band satellite based (and is blocked in Chinese air space). Note, the latest batch of 787-8s have Viasat high speed satellite wifi
Link to WiFi page on AA.com.
Originally Posted by arollins
From AA.com upper right corner there is a search box, enter WIFI, scroll through the info, and you get the following.
For international and select domestic flights, contact the service provider
Panasonic
Call 1-866-924-3715 (toll-free)
Email [email protected]
For Panasonic equipped aircraft:
The Wi-Fi access page will display “service provided by Panasonic”
Your credit card statement charges will appear as ”PAC WIFI”
For international and select domestic flights, contact the service provider
Panasonic
Call 1-866-924-3715 (toll-free)
Email [email protected]
For Panasonic equipped aircraft:
The Wi-Fi access page will display “service provided by Panasonic”
Your credit card statement charges will appear as ”PAC WIFI”
. . . . . . . . 2 Hour Pass – $12
. . . . . . .. .4 Hour Pass – $17
. . . . . . . . Duration of Flight Pass – $19
Which aircraft are equipped with international Panasonic WiFi?
Boeing 737 MAX 8 (all, "out of the box”; 737-800s will be covered as they are retrofitted to 172 seat capacity)
Boeing 777-300ER (all, "out of the box")
Boeing 777-200ER (added during refurbishment, all flying have it)
Boeing 787-8 (first batch only)
Boeing 787-9 all, ("out of the box")
Adding
134 Airbus A320 family (319, -20 and -21) according to member tdedj1
International (Panasonic satellite) WiFi: availability, experiences
Apr 1, 2013, 7:41 pm
#63
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: SFO/OAK
Programs: AA EXP 3.4MM, BAEC, UAMP, Skyteam (<10k) HH Gold, IHG Plat, Hertz Gold, GE/TSA TT
Posts: 2,723
I was in 6J, fortunately a very short walk/run to the handicapped lav, which is quite large and well appointed.
Apr 1, 2013, 7:43 pm
#64
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: SFO/OAK
Programs: AA EXP 3.4MM, BAEC, UAMP, Skyteam (<10k) HH Gold, IHG Plat, Hertz Gold, GE/TSA TT
Posts: 2,723
Apr 1, 2013, 7:52 pm
#65
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: SFO/OAK
Programs: AA EXP 3.4MM, BAEC, UAMP, Skyteam (<10k) HH Gold, IHG Plat, Hertz Gold, GE/TSA TT
Posts: 2,723
No wonder!!!!
Perhaps 2, 4, 10 other pax (or perhaps the whole plane) decided to DOWNLOAD a TV show and congest the bandwidth...therefore...it went down...
And then when they install filters, blockers, etc to avoid people doing this...which would probably affect functionality of certain sites....then we will complain again.
Perhaps 2, 4, 10 other pax (or perhaps the whole plane) decided to DOWNLOAD a TV show and congest the bandwidth...therefore...it went down...
And then when they install filters, blockers, etc to avoid people doing this...which would probably affect functionality of certain sites....then we will complain again.
I'm an IT engineer, so I'm rather interested in technical details like connection speed and latency, and I thought FTers might also be interested. Frankly, your suggestion that passengers using up the available bandwidth would bring down the connection is foolish. What is the bandwidth for??
It's not an easy feat to maintain a high bandwidth satellite connection from a fast moving aircraft, regardless of the data traffic. So I'm not surprised that Panasonic is having a few glitches.
Apr 1, 2013, 11:40 pm
#67
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA LT Gold
Posts: 3,644
I'm an IT engineer, so I'm rather interested in technical details like connection speed and latency, and I thought FTers might also be interested. Frankly, your suggestion that passengers using up the available bandwidth would bring down the connection is foolish. What is the bandwidth for??
It's not an easy feat to maintain a high bandwidth satellite connection from a fast moving aircraft, regardless of the data traffic. So I'm not surprised that Panasonic is having a few glitches.
Passengers using up the bandwith does not bring down the connection. Ok.
But then what is the effect of multiple passengers, maybe even a good 50 or 60 passengers, using the WIFI to download video, stream Video or any other activity that requires a lot of data transfer? Would it impact the speed of the connection to the point of making it almost useless for anybody?
Thank you,
Apr 2, 2013, 8:42 am
#68
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 2,384
But then what is the effect of multiple passengers, maybe even a good 50 or 60 passengers, using the WIFI to download video, stream Video or any other activity that requires a lot of data transfer? Would it impact the speed of the connection to the point of making it almost useless for anybody?
Do you not use your home connection in case it makes the entire network slower? No. You count on the provider to have factored that in, and make upgrades to the network bandwidth as required.
Apr 2, 2013, 9:28 am
#69
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA LT Gold
Posts: 3,644
Not if they accounted for that usage. Which they would likely do in designing the system.
Do you not use your home connection in case it makes the entire network slower? No. You count on the provider to have factored that in, and make upgrades to the network bandwidth as required.
Do you not use your home connection in case it makes the entire network slower? No. You count on the provider to have factored that in, and make upgrades to the network bandwidth as required.
I know that on domestic flights on aa, GOGO does not allow downloads or streaming of any kind; netflix, hulu, etc are blocked, for example.
I would think that, if anything, on international routes the service would be even more restricted.
Apr 2, 2013, 9:48 am
#70
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 2,384
The individual should only need be concerned with their own bandwidth accessibility, rather than that of the entire plane or network. That should be built into the system by the provider. And they have likely in place a way to ensure that no single pax takes up the entire plane's bandwidth.
Apr 2, 2013, 3:49 pm
#71
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Worse, after the meal I came down with severe food poisoning and spent probably half of the remaining 5 hours in the lav. On landing I had to be helped off the plane by wheelchair, airport staff called 911 and the local ambulance took me to the nearby Baylor Medical Center. They treated me very nicely there, and an IV drip + anti-biotics eventually did the trick. I stayed overnight nearby, and AA put me on the 11:30am flight home to SFO in F.... feeling much better today.
What had you eaten before the flight?
I'm an IT engineer, so I'm rather interested in technical details like connection speed and latency, and I thought FTers might also be interested. Frankly, your suggestion that passengers using up the available bandwidth would bring down the connection is foolish. What is the bandwidth for??
It's not an easy feat to maintain a high bandwidth satellite connection from a fast moving aircraft, regardless of the data traffic. So I'm not surprised that Panasonic is having a few glitches.
The idea that bandwidth hogs can bring down a connection is not as foolish as one might think. For one thing, I've encountered way more badly broken implementations of what should be fairly easy services. I can't count how many public APs crash if too many people associate, or after they've run for a while. It'd be easy for me to imagine an implementation on an airplane that crashed when pushed. For another, congestion collapse of a link with a bandwidth or latency difference, due to large buffers that defeat TCP windows, a phenomenon called "Buffer Bloat," is pretty common. Increased use of UDP-based protocols that do not have congestion control is also a factor in congestion collapse.
That would be a long cable! (Although thinking about FiOS installation on a 787 brings to mind '70s tales of a DC-10 stuffed with Ford Pintos crashing into Three Mile island. For those who don't get the references, FiOS installations had an unfortunate series of accidentally setting the residence on fire, while 787s have suffered two battery-related fires; in the '70s there were a series of disasters around the same time involving Ford Pintos whose badly-designed gas tank burst into flames in an accident, a DC-10 whose engines came off in flights, and a melt-down at the Three Mile Island nuclear generator.)
May 1, 2013, 8:58 am
#72
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: NY,NY,USA
Posts: 39
wifi pricing on AA international flights
anyone know the plans for this? Just rode Finn Air (one world). 30mb for 40 usd. plus excess per kb. costs finally at 50usd for very skinny use for email.
Helsinki-JFK. seems a total rip. wondering if AA going this route. thanks
Helsinki-JFK. seems a total rip. wondering if AA going this route. thanks
May 1, 2013, 9:14 am
#73
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
A search on 'international, wifi' restricted to titles yields this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
The top entry lists pricing effective thru May 1.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
The top entry lists pricing effective thru May 1.
May 1, 2013, 10:01 am
#74
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 31
I'm booked to fly one of the 700-300ERs later this month JFK/LHR/JFK and note they do have the Wi-Fi. I've never used this on a plane before. Will be travelling with my IPad. Is it similar to a hotel Wi-Fi where you'll get a page and then enter your info - and onboard - credit card info? Am technically challenged and just wondering what to expect. Would appreciate some guidance from those of you much more in the know than me.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
May 1, 2013, 10:08 am
#75
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Programs: OWEmerald; STARGold; BonvoyPlat; IHGPlat/Amb; HiltonGold; A|ClubPat; AirMilesPlat
Posts: 38,186
Not sure how the new international system works, but with the GoGo domestic wifi you just turn on your iPad (or other device) and go to your normal icon to locate a wifi signal. You click on the service and it takes you to a regular Safari window that fills with the home page. From there you can log in by paying with cc or an existing account. Very simple.