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Will UA Match? Delta to Offer Free In-Flight Text Messaging

Will UA Match? Delta to Offer Free In-Flight Text Messaging

Old Oct 22, 2017, 3:43 pm
  #1  
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Will UA Match? Delta to Offer Free In-Flight Text Messaging

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/b...ging.html?_r=0
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 3:45 pm
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Originally Posted by 100% Green
Will UA Match? Delta to Offer Free In-Flight Text Messaging
As the DL news is a month old, and UA has not yet announced anything, I think the answer is no.
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 4:41 pm
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UA can barely get their wifi working properly anyway.
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 4:51 pm
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It is actually quite a useful benifit...

allows me to communicate re pick up, etc. I think the issue is that UA lacks the capacity having (cough, cough) not invested in its product. Per the article:

"Other airlines are expected to try to match the offer, but Delta could have an advantage, one aviation analyst said, because it has been investing heavily in equipment to help bolster its connectivity.

There will undoubtedly be attempts by other carriers to try to match this, but it comes down to whether they have the hardware to do it, said Robert Mann, president of R. W. Mann & Company, an airline consulting firm.

American Airlines and United Airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment."
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 5:00 pm
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If using iMessage, UA already does on its 737s and some 753s... 😉
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 5:19 pm
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Originally Posted by EWR764
If using iMessage, UA already does on its 737s and some 753s... 😉
how does that work?
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 5:36 pm
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How does this work? AA released a similar announcement.

I can send both iMessage and SMS?
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 5:38 pm
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It isn't about whether UA will "match" - AA/DL both use Gogo who provide the service. UA does not except for RJs and some 757s. And unless UA's LiveTV or Panasonic system supports it, the answer is likely no.
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 7:36 pm
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Originally Posted by EWR764
If using iMessage, UA already does on its 737s and some 753s... 😉
Shh.
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 8:14 pm
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Originally Posted by EWR764
If using iMessage, UA already does on its 737s and some 753s... 😉
This only seems to work at descent. I've never had it work in the middle of a flight, unless I'm doing something wrong?
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 9:08 pm
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Originally Posted by EWR764
If using iMessage, UA already does on its 737s and some 753s... 😉
Originally Posted by Polytonic
This only seems to work at descent. I've never had it work in the middle of a flight, unless I'm doing something wrong?
I've had my things come through on, I think, the 789 when flying from MEL.
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 9:19 pm
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UA Already does this. I just flew to MEX and had free imessages most of the way.

Last edited by DutchessPDX; Dec 20, 2017 at 9:52 am
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 9:22 pm
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UA does more than that actually (though I doubt they realize it) - you can use any Google services for free in flight. I think this is because their own in-flight site uses several Google services (maps, in particular), and since Google data is served over SSL, they have no way of knowing what's inside and which connection is what.

Moreover, you can get to other sites through various Google services trickery, though it's not terribly convenient. Someone with more time on their hands could build a proxy app that would essentially allow fairly full internet access that way (I don't fly enough to make this effort).

Of course now that I posted this, UA might find out and block it (if they know how...let's see)
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Old Oct 22, 2017, 9:37 pm
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
As the DL news is a month old, and UA has not yet announced anything, I think the answer is no.
Of course they wont. They only copy Delta when it saves money.
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Old Oct 23, 2017, 12:41 am
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iMessage Works over Wifi, and Verizon wireless offers the ability to send messages from its website or the Verizon Messages App, using Wifi or cellular data. These are like a virtual SMS.
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