American adding faster ViaSat WiFi to 500+ Aircraft
Nov 9, 2016, 8:22 pm
#1
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American adding faster ViaSat WiFi to 500+ Aircraft
For those tired of taking naps while waiting for a web page to open in flight, there's good news: AA will join the ranks of airlines with reasonably fast in-flight Internet over the next year or so.
American Airlines to Offer Faster Wi-Fi via ViaSat
This link is to an online source to which I contribute and/or have a financial interest.
American Airlines to Offer Faster Wi-Fi via ViaSat
American Airlines said Wednesday it plans to install faster Wi-Fi service on over 500 aircraft in its mainline fleet, switching suppliers from incumbent Gogo to ViaSat, which powers JetBlue Airways’ popular Fly-Fi service.
American, which has the distinction not only of having been the first U.S. airline to offer in-flight Internet back in 2008 but also has one of the largest Wi-Fi-enabled fleets in the world, ...
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American, which has the distinction not only of having been the first U.S. airline to offer in-flight Internet back in 2008 but also has one of the largest Wi-Fi-enabled fleets in the world, ...
<SNIP>
Nov 9, 2016, 10:01 pm
#2
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Interesting. It seems that the US Airways contract with GoGo was much more restrictive than the one AA had, as it appears to be LUS planes that are getting the GoGo 2ku, with ViaSat going on other aircraft. What about the existing GoGo ATG and ATG-4 planes? Are they sticking with 2ku, ATG/ATG-4 or moving to ViaSat?
Nov 10, 2016, 5:50 am
#3
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Three-way mishmash
Don't look for speed from ViaSat everywhere across the AA fleet.
“GoGo will still be outfitting other aircraft in our domestic fleet with its 2ku satellite Wi-Fi and Panasonic continues to provide satellite Wi-Fi for our international widebody fleet,” a spokeswoman told Bloomberg, adding: “GoGo remains a valued partner.”
https://consumerist.com/2016/11/09/a...love-triangle/
“GoGo will still be outfitting other aircraft in our domestic fleet with its 2ku satellite Wi-Fi and Panasonic continues to provide satellite Wi-Fi for our international widebody fleet,” a spokeswoman told Bloomberg, adding: “GoGo remains a valued partner.”
https://consumerist.com/2016/11/09/a...love-triangle/
Nov 10, 2016, 7:16 am
#5
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Unfortunate. Amex GoGo passes will be relatively useless on AA now. Another reason to stick with DL for the time being. You can be assured AA won't offer it free like B6 does. They'll choke every penny they can out of the customer for WiFi.
Nov 10, 2016, 8:30 am
#6
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And T-Mobile's unlimited texting and 1-hour of free Gogo inflight.
Nov 10, 2016, 9:04 am
#7
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So now you need three subscriptions - GoGo, ViaSat, and Panasonic. What a clusterf***.
Free GoGo is a great AMEX perk. Sucks to not be able to use it more.
Free GoGo is a great AMEX perk. Sucks to not be able to use it more.
Nov 10, 2016, 9:55 am
#9
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The black Centurion business card. My sister has one and I used her card to set up the login (a benefit she would never use). Couldn't believe the fees on that card (something like $7,000 "initiation" and $2,500 annually).
EDIT: See post 12 below for more cards.
EDIT: See post 12 below for more cards.
Last edited by HofstraJet; Nov 10, 2016 at 12:01 pm
Nov 10, 2016, 11:47 am
#11
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Nov 10, 2016, 12:01 pm
#12
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I didn't realize that - just looked it up and realized that it's only business cards - gold, platinum and Centurion. I updated my post. Thanks.
PS - you would think for such an expensive card they could add the benefit to non-business Centurion users and throw them a bone.
Here's the complete list: https://promotions.gogoair.com/promotion/amexSplash.do
Business Centurion® Card and
Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN:
Corporate Centurion® Card, Corporate Platinum Card®,
Corporate Gold Card and Executive Gold Corporate Card
from American Express:
PS - you would think for such an expensive card they could add the benefit to non-business Centurion users and throw them a bone.
Here's the complete list: https://promotions.gogoair.com/promotion/amexSplash.do
Business Centurion® Card and
Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN:
Corporate Centurion® Card, Corporate Platinum Card®,
Corporate Gold Card and Executive Gold Corporate Card
from American Express:
Nov 10, 2016, 12:54 pm
#13
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I flew a brand new 787-900 LAX-DFW. The FAS made a point that the plane didn't use GoGo and that while 787-800s use it, that the 900s won't. She said when talking with her, that this whole different ISPs on different planes is starting to poss people off.
Nov 10, 2016, 4:18 pm
#14
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If it's LAA with ViaSat and Panasonic and LUS with Gogo, I'm assuming the breakdown will look something like this in a few years:
• E190: Gogo
• LAA A319: ViaSat
• LUS A319: Gogo
• MD-80: Gogo (assuming no retrofit for these aircraft)
• A320: Gogo
• 737: ViaSat
• LAA A321T & A321S: ViaSat
• LUS A321: Gogo
• LAA 757 International: ?
• LUS 757 MCE retrofit: ?
• 767 retrofit: Panasonic
• 787-8 & 787-9: Panasonic
• A330-200 & A330-300: ?
• 777-200 & 777-300: Panasonic
Agreed that having 3 different Wi-Fi providers to worry about is going to be a huge inconsistent inconvenience.
Has AA announced pricing for the ViaSat Wi-Fi yet?