“History will record 2004 as the year when air travelers for the first time could choose to be connected while in flight to family, colleagues and friends,” said Scott Carson, president, Connexion by Boeing. Following successful trials of its service by Lufthansa and British Airways in 2003, Connexion by Boeing has obtained the first regulatory authorizations to operate wireless devices aboard commercial airliners in flight. Some other recent milestones for the service include in-flight VPNs, the first two-way video-teleconference between the air and the ground during a commercial airline flight, and the first two-way, real-time e-mail exchange in flight between two airline passengers flying on different airplanes.
SAS, Singapore Airlines and All-Nippon Airways are also planning to equip their long-range fleets with the Connexion by Boeing service. The company also cited increased momentum in the executive-jet market: Kingdom Holding Co. of Saudi Arabia announced plans to install the Connexion by Boeing system, initially on a Boeing 747.www.connexionbyboeing.comIn July 2003, the World Radiocommunication Conference approved the use of a range of radio frequencies for satellite-based communications for aeronautical purposes. The allocation cleared the way for regulatory authorities within each country’s airspace worldwide to authorize certain in-flight connectivity services such as Connexion by Boeing.
Agreements also were reached with satellite service providers, including Eutelsat, Intelsat and Space Communications Corporation.
