Friday, June 24, 2005

Internet on planes

According to the NZ Herald, Air New Zealand's new planes may come with lie-flat leather seats and advanced in-flight entertainment, but anyone wanting broadband internet at 30,000 feet may have to wait until a rival upgrades.

The airline has embarked on a complete overhaul of its long-haul services, with seven of its eight Boeing 747-400s refitted with new interiors and in-flight entertainment.

The first of eight new Boeing 777-200ER is due to arrive in September this year.

But Air New Zealand has not asked Boeing to fit its new planes with the antennae needed for in-flight broadband internet access.

It seems that Singapore Airlines has access to internet and SMS etc on their planes. It does seem to be the way of the future, so I guess Air NZ should get the upgrades done now. I was searching for planes online and it seems that it is between $150,000 and $500,000US to get the internet up and running on the plane. With the amount of travelers on the plane willing to spend $10 per hour to asssec these features the investment would be payed off quickly, and the customers would have the comforts of home. Do it now Air New Zealand.

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