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HELP DESK: AA In-Flight WiFi (Gogo, ViaSat, Panasonic)

Old Jun 4, 2018, 9:33 pm
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Last edit by: txpenny
American Airlines In-Flight WiFi

NOTE: Three providers mean some gaps in how one pays for and uses WiFi in the long run, e.g. monthly passes, at least for now. But AA has fixed things so you are limited to a single device now (2020), rather than share your connection to different devices even serially, unless you bring a WiFi hotspot and connect that.

If you fly often, join the Monthly American Airlines Plan for $49.95 a month (plus tax). The pass is valid only on Gogo and Viasat Wi-Fi equipped domestic flights operating between airports within the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where network coverage is available. Wi-Fi services provided by Panasonic, regardless of destination, are not covered under the American Airlines Wi-Fi subscription plan. (aa.com)

You can always access aa.com for free during your flight.
Link to AA (unofficial) fleet site with WiFi, etc. listings for each aircraft

Link to AA tool flight status and WiFi (indicates WiFi, not type / provider)

Link to AA chat where you may easily cancel and request WiFi refunds

WiFi types (fee or pass required)

ViaSat Ka band satellite-based WiFi under installation in ~500 AA narrowbody aircraft, and comes out of the box on AA 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Gate to gate offered.

American adding faster ViaSat WiFi to 500+ Aircraft"]American adding faster ViaSat WiFi to 500+ Aircraft (FT)

Link to ViaSat press announcement


Gogo cellular telephone dependent WiFi (converted to Gogo 2Ku band satellite Wi-Fi for many flights within the continental U.S. and southern Canada). Available above 10,000 ft MSL (Ku at any time). On the wane, as over 400 aircraft will be converted to ViaSat.

Link to credit cards supporting courtesy WiFi Gogo passes

Link to Gogo 2Ku page.

Link AirInsight article on Gogo loss of ~400 AA aircraft to ViaSat


Panasonic ExConnect Ku band aeronautical satellite network -based WiFi on widebody aircraft. Blacked out over China.

International (Panasonic satellite) WiFi: availability, experiences (FT)

The Jan 2020 WiFi lineup after refit is:

Airbus:

A319: ViaSat or 2Ku
A320 (Legacy US Airways): Gogo 2Ku
A321 (Legacy US Airways): ViaSat
A321 (Legacy AA - A321H, A321S): ViaSat
32B Sharklets (A321T): ViaSat

Boeing

737-800: ViaSat (all)
737 MAX 8: ViaSat (all)
787-8: Panasonic (Batch 1)
787-8: Viasat (Batch 2, 788T)
787-9: Panasonic (all)
777-200ER: Panasonic (all)
777-300ER: Panasonic (all)

Embraer E190: ?

Parenthetical notes:
all = all in fleet
no parenthetical note = goal, not current state; Gogo conversion to Gogo 2Ku
under conversion = varies by specific aircraft until conversion complete

(Thanks to ThreeJulietTango)

Wifi Speeds inflight : AA's new service is 10x as fast as Gogo Inflight

Onboard IFE streaming (free IFE to your personal device)

WiFi based onboard server-based streaming in flight entertainment (IFE) is being added to hundreds if aircraft, making AVOD streaming to your personal device the norm (as opposed to seatback flatscreen entertainment options).

Related: Oasis: New seats & less pitch, WiFi IFE & power all 737 and A321 2019-21

Mobile Phone support/features by Provider:

GoGo:
T-Mobile - Wi-Fi calling and texting works (well I never tried the calling but, but it connects as T-Mobile WiFi). iPhone imessage works
Verizon -
AT&T -
Sprint -

Panasonic:
T-Mobile - Wi-Fi calling not available, so no Wi-Fi texting. iPhone iMessage works (only when texting another iPhone user)
Verizon -
AT&T -
Sprint -

Viasat:
T-Mobile - Will register as T-Mobile WiFi. WiFi texting works. Unknown about WiFi calling, but didn't want to chance it.
Verizon -
AT&T -
Sprint -

Link to archived 2018 posts

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HELP DESK: AA In-Flight WiFi (Gogo, ViaSat, Panasonic)

Old Aug 5, 2018, 2:57 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 4
AA WiFi: iPass connection provider?

Hello world,
I am trying to figure out how to sign up for iPass as an individual (or a business of 1) to connect to AA-Inflight and gogo wifi
are there any resellers?
I saw a thread in Technology subforum of FlyerTalk that 25+ people need to sign up for iPass.

Any tips / advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Andrew
grush is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2018, 4:04 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Land of 10,000 Upgrades
Posts: 9,465
Google is your friend:
https://www.ipass.com/gogo-inflight-wifi/
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 7:05 pm
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
Originally Posted by UpgradeMe
Hey, a link to a page that doesn't directly answer the question. Was that supposed to be helpful?

A few thoughts:

1) As the page indicates, you can't buy iPass as an individual. There's no indication about whether there's a minimum account size required for companies, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was something like a 25 seat minimum. You'd have to call to find out.
2) For a while, USMobile was basically selling iPass subscriptions for $10 a month, but they don't seem to be taking new customers. You can sign up for a waitlist on their website, though.
3) For in-flight WiFi, iPass actually charges a per-flight fee back to the corporate account, so if you use GoGo more than a few times a month, it's actually cheaper just to pay for a GoGo subscription.
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 7:21 pm
  #4  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
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Originally Posted by jordyn
Hey, a link to a page that doesn't directly answer the question. Was that supposed to be helpful?
It does, on the other hand, answer my question of what has GoGo to do with the Illinois Tollway's I-PASS!
MADPhil is online now  
Old Aug 5, 2018, 9:38 pm
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold 75k, AAdvantage Executive Platinum
Posts: 197
Originally Posted by jordyn
Hey, a link to a page that doesn't directly answer the question. Was that supposed to be helpful?

A few thoughts:

1) As the page indicates, you can't buy iPass as an individual. There's no indication about whether there's a minimum account size required for companies, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was something like a 25 seat minimum. You'd have to call to find out.
2) For a while, USMobile was basically selling iPass subscriptions for $10 a month, but they don't seem to be taking new customers. You can sign up for a waitlist on their website, though.
3) For in-flight WiFi, iPass actually charges a per-flight fee back to the corporate account, so if you use GoGo more than a few times a month, it's actually cheaper just to pay for a GoGo subscription.
Minimum account size is 5 users at $25/month. Price drops significantly with more users.

Our iPass agreement has no per-flight fee - its much cheaper than Gogo subscriptions were.

Unfortunately, iPass does not yet work on ViaSat equipped aircraft, so I actually bought a Gogo subscription to use there as so much of the 738 fleet has been converted. Ive only been told soon by our iPass rep, but would appreciate any insight from others.
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Old Aug 5, 2018, 10:52 pm
  #6  
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Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 4
Thumbs up

I am surprised that it doesn't work on gogo iPass - I see the sign in link on gogo (i think)
Is there a way to get in on your iPass agreement somehow?

CPH Travel Wifi - going to buy that to try..

Regarding US mobile - I emailed them today - they reached 10,000 users and have no ETA for the wait for a spot..

Originally Posted by ORD-DCA Flyer

Minimum account size is 5 users at $25/month. Price drops significantly with more users.

Our iPass agreement has no per-flight fee - it’s much cheaper than Gogo subscriptions were.

Unfortunately, iPass does not yet work on ViaSat equipped aircraft, so I actually bought a Gogo subscription to use there as so much of the 738 fleet has been converted. I’ve only been told “soon” by our iPass rep, but would appreciate any insight from others.

Last edited by grush; Aug 5, 2018 at 11:08 pm
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 12:41 am
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Chicago, IL
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Posts: 197
Originally Posted by grush
I am surprised that it doesn't work on gogo iPass - I see the sign in link on gogo (i think)
Is there a way to get in on your iPass agreement somehow?

CPH Travel Wifi - going to buy that to try..

Regarding US mobile - I emailed them today - they reached 10,000 users and have no ETA for the wait for a spot..
iPass does work on Gogo, including both ATG and 2Ku on AA. It also works on the Panasonic service on AAs widebody aircraft.

It does not work on ViaSat, such as on the 7M8 and retrofitted 738/32B. The only option on these flights other than pay per use is to roam with a Gogo subscription. Though iPass can be used to roam on Gogo, you cannot double roam onto ViaSat from iPass.
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 12:42 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: May 2003
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Originally Posted by grush
CPH Travel Wifi - going to buy that to try..
Gogo is excluded from this.
jridge is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2018, 1:14 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: USA
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Originally Posted by ORD-DCA Flyer

iPass does work on Gogo, including both ATG and 2Ku on AA. It also works on the Panasonic service on AAs widebody aircraft.

It does not work on ViaSat, such as on the 7M8 and retrofitted 738/32B. The only option on these flights other than pay per use is to roam with a Gogo subscription. Though iPass can be used to roam on Gogo, you cannot double roam onto ViaSat from iPass.
Thanks! That explains why my iPass wasn't connecting to Gogo on some AA flights. Must be the ViaSat limitation.

Does anyone know if the unlimited Gogo access through T-Mobile One Plus (or Advantage for businesses) work on ViaSat?
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 8:45 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
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Originally Posted by nort
Does anyone know if the unlimited Gogo access through T-Mobile One Plus (or Advantage for businesses) work on ViaSat?
Unfortunately they do not, as these aren't Gogo subscriptions. You cannot double roam onto ViaSat.
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 9:28 am
  #11  
 
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iPass minimum is 5. Perhaps you guys could form FlyerTalk Flyers, LLC and sign up for it?
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 10:57 am
  #12  
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
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Originally Posted by ORD-DCA Flyer
Unfortunately they do not, as these aren't Gogo subscriptions. You cannot double roam onto ViaSat.
Thanks. That's good to know. So not too much incentive to switch to the T-mobile one plus plan for me, at least not yet.
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 2:46 pm
  #13  
 
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Originally Posted by samwise6222
iPass minimum is 5. Perhaps you guys could form FlyerTalk Flyers, LLC and sign up for it?
There is a similar long series of discussions over on the Delta forums. I'm sure we could find 10-50 people. Managing the whole thing, though ...
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 2:55 pm
  #14  
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
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Really a shame that the US Mobile iPass deal got killed last year. I got in on that for a month and it was beautiful. Unfortunately I didn’t realize that there was no auto-renew, so my access was terminated after a month. I tried to sign up again, but no joy. I’ve been on the waitlist for roughly a year now...

I’d love to be able to sign up for something similar. Unfortunately, I don’t work for a large company so that avenue isn’t an option.
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Old Sep 20, 2018, 10:43 pm
  #15  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 161
iPass Accounts Interst

Not really sure where to post this, as I know other airlines also use and support iPass accounts. Seen a few posts on iPass but nothing tangible.

I wanted to gauge the interest of folks interested in getting an iPass. iPass is only sold to companies (i know because I just went through this at my previous role). You need a minimum of 5 users, and It starts at $45 / user per month, but goes down depending on how many users you sign up for, and it's a minimum of a 1 year commitment.(I have an e-mail from a rep on this).

I'm willing to setup an LLC or something if folks are interested. The more folks, the cheaper the access, and I'm thinking the best way to do it would be to have each individual pay the full year amount up front that would sit in a non interest bearing account. I'm not sure what the tiering is for # of people. But obviously iPass is "the" most supported in-Flight network around now. I've attached a few of the docs the rep sent me.
Attached Files
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