Cruising at a height of 37,000 ft used to be one of the few places where you could be reasonably sure of being able to hide away from your work colleagues and your email, but not any longer! Thanks to the Connexion by Boeing in-flight internet broadband service you now can get at your email, do your online banking, in fact access any of the internet services that you'd use at home or work.
Right now I'm flying with the UAE's ETIHAD Airways over Jordan, on my way from London Gatwick to Abu Dhabi; my laptop is connected wirelessly to the in-plane network (dubbed "Wi-Fli" by a clever marketing person!) and a US$20 fee means that I can use the fast internet service for the duration of my flight. The service is available in the whole aircraft, not just in business class, and a variety of payment plans are available, starting at US$9.95.
ETIHAD are amongst the World leaders in installing this new technology on their fleet (it's also available with All Nippon Airways, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Asiana Airlines, China Airlines, Japan Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, El Al Airlines, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines), but I think that it is only a matter of time before most of the World's leading airlines offer this service to their passengers.
Today I've managed to deal with some important email messages, and chat with colleagues and friends via Skype Chat (I didn't bring a headset, so not sure if it will support Skype Voice or not... also I suspect that the other passengers might not like me chatting away into my PC!). The service has been fast and very stable... easy to set up and simple to use.
OK... so probably I won't want to connect to the internet every time I fly; really I tried it today because it's the first time I've been on an internet-equipped plane... and often it's good just to put your feet up and read a good book! However, the price is not excessive (it's more expensive to connect to the ground-based public wi-fi network at Gatwick Airport), and for those occasions where you really do need to keep in touch it's ideal.
For the technically minded, the service is provided using Ku-band (10 - 14 GHz) communications links to conventional telecommunications satellites in the geostationary satellite orbit. Planes are equipped with either twin phased-array antennas, or single mechanically-steered reflectors, which enable the plane's communications electronics to track the satellites even when the plane banks or turns. All the systems and electronics needed to be flight-qualified so as to ensure aircraft safety and electromagnetic compatibility.
Watch out for new telecommunications services coming to the sky too. Soon you'll be able to turn on your cellphone and make and receive calls in flight too. Flying may never be the same again!
