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Gogo accelerates shift to higher-speed Wi-Fi

The external antennas for Gogo’s 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi should reduce drag on the aircraft. (Image: Gogo)

As passengers demand more broadband capacity and faster in-fight Internet service, Gogo is moving as fast as it can to change its airline Wi-Fi service from ground-based to satellite-based links.

The company said this week that the number of commercial aircraft equipped with its 2Ku broadband satellite technology has just passed the 500 mark, up from 100 at the beginning of this year. That’s out of a total of 3,000 Gogo-equipped planes. Orders for 2Ku installations now exceed 2,000 aircraft, the company said.

Where is 2Ku being installed, and how do you know if your aircraft has it?

“In the US, most of these are with Delta, and they inform passengers before boarding through their app and email notifications,” a spokesman tells Travelskills. “They also have ‘high speed Internet’ signs at the boarding door, as well as branding on their portal. With other airline partners like GOL, 2Ku is the only technology offered.”

Gogo

On Delta jets, you’ll know you have a satellite based connection when you see this sign by the boarding door (Photo: Gogo)

Gogo said it takes about 30 hours to install the satellite-based technology on an aircraft – less than half the time it normally takes to install a broadband link.

In recent months, the company installed 2Ku on Delta’s first new Airbus A350; won regulatory approval to install 2Ku technology on Boeing 777s; signed a deal with Alaska Airlines to put 2Ku on all of the airline’s Airbus and Boeing aircraft; won a contract from LATAM Airlines Brazil to put satellite connections on 100 of its A320s; finished installing satellite Wi-Fi links on all of Virgin Atlantic’s A330s, A340s and 747s; and finalized an agreement with Cathay Pacific Group to put the technology on Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon wide-bodies, including A330s and 777s.

 

The dome atop this Delta A350 means it has 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi. (Image: Jujug Spotting/Gogo)

By the way, there’s one other way to tell if your aircraft has Gogo 2Ku Wi-Fi: There’s a distinctive little dome on top of the plane.

“2Ku is the best performing connectivity solution in the market and that performance has resulted in the technology becoming the most rapidly adopted broadband satellite connectivity solution in the history of commercial aviation,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO. “While we continue to grow our backlog of 2Ku aircraft, we are also focused operationally on making sure 2Ku also becomes the most rapidly deployed technology in commercial aviation history.”

Has your inflight wi-fi experience improved in recent months? Please leave your comments below. 

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Some elite flyers to get free wi-fi

Air Canada is adding free Wi-Fi as a perk for its elites. (Image: Air Canada)

Is this becoming a trend? Another big North American carrier said it will offer free in-flight Wi-Fi service as a perk for its most frequent customers.

Air Canada and Gogo announced that free Internet is being added as one of the privileges that can be selected by the airline’s Altitude Elite 75K and Super Elite 100K elite members – the top two levels of the airline’s five-tier elite structure.

The Elite 75Ks can get six-month unlimited use passes for Wi-Fi, and the Super Elite 100Ks can select a 12-month free pass. The passes are good on mainline Air Canada flights in North America as well as Air Canada Express and Air Canada Rouge.

And soon, the benefit is coming to international flights as well.

“Air Canada’s new Altitude WiFi select privilege is available for use on all Air Canada equipped flights, all over the world, regardless of systems provider. This also includes Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express operated flights,” Mark Nasr, Vice President Loyalty & eCommerce for Air Canada told TravelSkills.
He added, “Currently all of our Airbus 320 family, Embraer E175/E190, and Boeing 737MAX aircraft offer connectivity, using a mix of GoGo and Thales solutions—that’s about 160 planes. We began installations of the latest generation high-speed connectivity on our wide-body fleet this quarter; we’ll start rolling-out those planes by January at the rate of one aircraft everyone one to two weeks, until the fleet is complete. We expect to have a 10 long-haul aircraft complete before year’s end; this time next year, we expect to offer connectivity on around 248 aircraft, including 80 (or most of) the long-haul fleet.”

For now, Air Canada charges US$16 for a Gogo one-way pass if purchased online before flying. A monthly pass is US$52.

Qualifying members will be able to pick the free Wi-Fi as a Select Privilege benefit for 2018. Other selectable privileges include things like mileage bonuses, upgrade credits, airport club membership discounts and guest passes, elite status for a friend, and so on.

Air Canada is not the first North American airline to offer free Wi-Fi. Southwest Airlines offers it as a perk for top-level A-List Preferred members of its Rapid Rewards program. JetBlue has long been offering free Wi-Fi (which it calls Fly-Fi) to all passengers.

But Air Canada may be the first to offer free Gogo Wi-Fi. JetBlue developed its proprietary satellite-based Wi-Fi technology with Viasat, and Southwest’s Internet provider is Global Eagle Entertainment – although it is using Panasonic Avionics to install Wi-Fi on newly delivered aircraft, including its new 737MAX planes.

Here’s hoping that other North American carriers consider a similar move. Will they? Leave your comments below. 

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Delta debuts free in-flight text messaging

Delta is launching free in-flight texting service. (Image: Delta)

Delta is rolling out a nice new benefit for travelers next month: free in-flight text messaging service on all its aircraft equipped with Gogo Internet.

The only other U.S. carrier that currently offers this handy freebie is Alaska Airlines, which introduced it last winter.

Although Alaska has exclusively offered the free texting for almost nine months now, Delta’s decision to match that amenity could put big pressure on United and American to do the same. It’s ideal for passengers who need to send a quick message to someone on the ground but don’t want to sign up for a paid Wi-Fi session.

Delta’s free texting service, which begins October 1, is available for users of iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Gogo-equipped Delta aircraft include all those with at least two cabins. To access the free texting, passengers should use Delta’s Wi-Fi portal at airborne.gogoinflight.com. It’s for sending and receiving text only – no photo or video files. In the past, this benefit was reserved for T-Mobile customers— now all passengers will enjoy it.

Delta is upgrading its Gogo Wi-Fi to faster satellite-based technology. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Delta’s offer is basically the same as Alaska’s Free Chat service, which also works with iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger via Gogo Internet. The free texting offer should help Delta in its ongoing market share battle for customers at Alaska’s Seattle hub.

The airline is gradually upgrading its inflight Wi-Fi service to Gogo’s high-speed 2Ku satellite-based technology. Over the next two years, Delta said, the faster Wi-Fi will be installed on more than 600 of its domestic and international aircraft. About 200 planes already have it.

Will you use the new feature? Please leave your comments below.

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Testing Gogo

Gogo’s Boeing 737 flight lab named Jimmy Ray (Photo: Ian Livingston)

Tuesday afternoon, at Newark Liberty International Airport, I boarded a plane, took off, watched Planet Earth live on Netflix for 90 minutes. I then landed at Newark Liberty International Airport—a few hundred feet from where I’d taken off.

I ended the day where I started it, and that was the point. So was the Netflix. On this day, Gogo, the world’s leading provider of in-flight wi-fi, was sampling what is says is its newest, fastest, most reliable wi-fi product yet for aviation and travel journalists. Aboard Gogo’s white-and-sky-blue 737—the Jimmy Ray “flight lab,” named for Gogo’s founder—I joined about 20 others in testing “the next generation of 2Ku” Wi-Fi.

NYC-based travel writer Ian Livingston penned this post about his EWR-EWR roundtrip

Takeaway: Gogo’s in-flight Wi-Fi, powered by new modems and Intelsat IS32E satellites, is about to get much, much better.

Gogo says that right now only one Aeromexico jet is flying with the newest next-gen 2Ku system that we sampled. However, the company has aggressive plans for installation and says that 1,600 planes will have it by the end of 2018. Currently, about 170 planes worldwide are flying with its first generation 2Ku system—and 100 of those are Delta’s. Planes that are already equipped with first-gen 2Ku will, at the end of this cycle, be retrofitted with the new modems to bring their wi-fi up to what will soon be the new standard.

On Tuesday’s flight, my “gogoinflight” signal floated between 35Mbs and 64Mbs—stronger than what I’m writing with at home (37Mbs). And that was gate to gate, through takeoff and landing, nearly without interruption. For reference, you need about 4Mbs to watch Netflix programming. For general browsing and email, which require only periodic requests to servers, you need much less than that. I streamed Planet Earth episodes and VICE YouTube videos at the same time, while using email, with no discernible issue.

According to Gogo, the Wi-Fi at 30,000 feet on this day peaked at a blistering 93Mbs, though I did not measure that myself. Uploads peaked at just 8Mbs, but for me averaged around 4Mbs. All this, despite 20-some journalists on 53 devices trying their hardest to consume bandwidth.

(Photo: Ian Livingston)

That said, my VPN (iVPN) brought my internet bacchanal to a temporary halt. I was told by CTO Anand Chari that initially the new 2Ku technology is not yet optimized for all VPNs (which carry server requests indirectly, via multiple stops) for reasons related to latency. My attempts to FaceTime were also largely unsuccessful, though a few flying beside me managed better. Ed Baig of USA Today even Facebook Live’d for a while.

American Airlines, which not long ago nearly took Gogo to court, has signed on for 2Ku installation on 140 planes. Among the other airlines that will soon offer up to 100Mbs wi-fi in the air are Aer Lingus, Air France, Air Canada, British Airways, GOL, Iberia, Japan Transoceanic Air, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia.

Pricing for now will remain the same, though Gogo expects to reevaluate as passengers familiarize themselves with the new tech. As I understand it, Gogo’s current price structure is designed to limit the number of passengers consuming bandwidth (cheap/free access would mean more people clogging it up). With much more bandwidth soon available, and passenger expectations of Gogo set to change, it remains possible that more passengers will price into Gogo’s user base.

Until then, know what airplane you’re flying on. Your Gogo dollars may already take you further than they used to.

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Alaska kicks off new Premium Class, ‘Free Chat’ and more

Alaska's Premium Class customers will get free drinks and snacks in addition to more legroom.(Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska’s Premium Class customers will get free drinks and snacks in addition to more legroom.(Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines this week officially launched its new premium economy seating class along with some new perks for passengers.

The company said the new Premium Class – which offers four inches of extra legroom, early boarding privileges, and free snacks and alcoholic drinks – was launched this week on “select routes.” It said more than 40 percent of its fleet has now been retrofitted with the new configuration, and more than 90 percent should be finished by year’s end.

The airline’s Mileage Plan MVPs, Golds and Gold 75K elite members can get free upgrades to Premium Class seats when they book, or up to 24 hours before departure, depending on their status level and the fare class they booked. Other passengers can upgrade to the new seats for fees ranging from $15 to $79 above base fares, depending on the length of the flight.

New in-flight perks introduced this week include Free Chat on aircraft equipped with Gogo Wi-Fi. Available for passengers in all classes of service, Free Chat includes the use of iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger at no charge.

“We know that staying in touch while on the go is essential to our guests, many of whom don’t need full Internet access,” said Alaska Executive VP Andrew Harrison. “And yes, it’s fully emoji-compatible.”

Alaska Airlines economy 737

Alaska is adding new drinks to its in-flight service. (Photo: Alaska Air)

The Free Chat feature started this week in beta, “with full functionality deploying January 24,” the airline said. Passengers can use it by signing in to their Gogo accounts and following the steps outlined on the screen.

Alaska said to celebrate its recent acquisition of Virgin America, it is also offering free access to its inventory of streaming in-flight movies and TV shows from now through March 31. The offer applies for passengers who stream on their own devices, but not to Alaska’s tablet rentals.

And later this month. Alaska said, it will introduce new food and beverage options to its in-fight service, including premium wines from Washington State’s Chateau Ste. Michelle, new premium craft beer and bourbon, and La Marca sparkling wine.

The airline said the new perks are only on Alaska-operated flights, not those of Virgin America or Horizon Air.

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How I bid on a transcon upgrade and won

Virgin America A320

My last “real” Virgin America flight in seat 1A! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

>In this post: How I bid my way to a first class upgrade on Virgin America and a Trip Report (with photos) about my experience…

Last week I used my Virgin America Elevate points (26,000 of ’em!) to buy a roundtrip economy class ticket between San Francisco and Washington, DC– and I lucked out in both directions.

Here’s what happened:

About a week before my trip, I received an email from Virgin America inviting me to bid on an upgrade to first class for the return leg (DCA-SFO) of the trip. Since I knew I’d be tired and ready to kick back after an very busy three-day trip, I thought “hmmm I deserve this, let’s check it out.” It had been a long time since I had enjoyed a transcon flight in Virgin’s big marshmallow white seats, and I knew I’d appreciate the space, service, meal and cocktails on the evening return flight.

Plus, I thought that it could be the last time I’d fly on the “real” Virgin America since its takeover by Alaska seems imminent.

 

screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-5-37-45-pm

 

I was psyched to receive the upgrade offer because I’d booked my economy class roundtrip a little late, and the seat selection was poor. I had aisle seats, behind the wing, in both directions. Yuck. So I bit. And I clicked on “Make an offer” and found out that I could only get the upgrade on the return flight. Still, an upgrade in one direction is better than no upgrade at all, right?

The click led to a screen that asked me to name my price for the return flight– but it would not allow me to submit a bid for less than $400. It included a helpful little toggle switch that helped gauge my “offer strength” and also showed a photo of those big leather marshmallows to tempt me.

screen-shot-2016-10-29-at-11-57-14-am

$400 seemed high to me, so I had to think about it. A few hours later, I decided, once again, “I deserve this.” So I went back and made a bid at the cheapest possible price: $410. If I got it, fine, if I did not, no biggie. I’d suffer at the back of the plane. This was a “free” ticket anyway since I’d used my points, right? What’s another $410? Plus, when I checked, roundtrip first class flights were running at about $3,000 roundtrip on Virgin America.

screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-6-05-38-pm

Once I submitted my bid, I received another email saying that my bid was under consideration- and that I could modify it or cancel it at any time. I liked that. I did not feel like I was stuck. I could up my bid, or I could bow out completely. Virgin said that my credit card would only be billed if my bid succeeded, and that they’d email to let me know if I’d won.

screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-6-09-50-pm

This all took place on Tuesday. My outbound flight departed Thursday morning, and the return was Sunday evening.

When it became time to check in for my flight on Wednesday, I took a quick look to see if any better coach seats have opened up. Lo and behold, one had: a non-reclining exit row window seat 9F– yes! Since it does not recline, Virgin does not charge extra for it, and I don’t ever recline in economy anymore, so I grabbed it. I also noticed that the middle seat next to mine was empty and hoped it stayed that way.

And you know what? It did stay empty! When the door to the plane closed, the guy in the aisle seat and I did a fist bump 🙂 An empty seat next to you on an exit row is almost as good as first class, right? Well, kinda. But I was able to stretch out, get some work done, use the middle seat tray table for overflow.  The 4-5 hour flight passed quickly, I had a nice fast Gogo internet connection, a protein plate for lunch (my favorite Virgin meal) ordered from the seat back.

Dear Alaska Airlines: Figure out a way to preserve and expand Virgin’s seatback food and drink ordering system. After eight years, no other airline has copied it and it works so well– for both passenger and crew.

Virgin America Protein

I hope Alaska Air keeps Virgin’s protein plate on the menu- it’s my favorite meal! (Chris McGinnis)

When I arrived in DC, I want straight to the most controversial hotel in the world. You can read about that here…

I was in DC for a meeting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As I struggled through a sunny bright DC Saturday morning stuck in a windowless conference room, I remembered my bid for first class on the flight home. A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with an email:

screen-shot-2016-11-10-at-6-14-08-pm

Wooo hooo! I got it! I won the bid! I went to check my options and settle on seat 1A. I felt like standing up in the middle of the meeting and giving myself a high five! I’d be flying home in style. My favorite hometown airline had come through for me. So here’s how that went:

Virgin's cushy first class seats look like big white marshmallows (Virgin America)

Virgin’s cushy first class seats look like big white marshmallows- I sat in 1A (Virgin America)

Boarding the flight was fast and easy at Washington Reagan National. There are only eight seats in Virgin’s first class. Only one was empty for the the flight to SFO.

First thing I noticed was how old the plane felt. It must have been one of Virgin’s original A320s. I could tell by the older version of inflight entertainment, the scuffs and scrapes on that big white seat and surrounding area. (It did not look as pristine as the Virgin-supplied photo above.) Looking out the unpolished, murky window, I could see paint chips on the big red engine under the wing. While still nice, the hippest, coolest airline in the world looked a little long in the tooth. Alaska Air is going have to give some of these planes a nip and tuck here and there to keep up the Virgin image.

A little work with my bloody mary and mixed nuts (Chris McGinnis)

A little work with my bloody mary and mixed nuts (Chris McGinnis)

Service was great as usual. One of my favorite things about flying Virgin is how the pilots, in their black uniforms, stand at the head of the cabin to make pre-flight announcements. It’s interesting and reassuring, and I hope it’s a touch that Alaska Airlines keeps.

Three choices for dinner in Virgin America first class (Chris McGinnis)

Three choices for dinner in Virgin America first class (Chris McGinnis)

Flight attendants helped stow my carry on since I was in the bulkhead. They also distributed huge black pillows and comforters– these are seriously large and cozy. I declined, however, since I knew I’d be working on this flight.

Starter salad (Chris McGinnis)

Citrus and Persian cucumber with prosciutto starter salad- nice but the sections of lime were too sour (Chris McGinnis)

 

Main course (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Main course: Persian chicken with basmati right- regrettably overcooked and dry, but edible! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

 

A pear tart for dessert (Chris McGinnis)

A pear custard tart for dessert (Chris McGinnis)

Overall, I feel like that $410 was money well spent. I got plenty of work done on the flight.  Once again, I had a speedy Gogo connection— fast enough to upload photos, which is rare. I arrived back in SFO in good shape after the 5 hour slog.

I’m going to miss Virgin America. It will be tough to say goodbye to our fun, sassy, innovative, high-style airline. But I believe it will be in good hands with Alaska, which seems to have an open mind about integrating the best parts of the Virgin experience.

What do you think about losing Virgin America? Did you ever get to fly upfront? Ever play the upgrade bidding game? Please leave your comments below.  

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Faster, cheaper inflight wi-fi is going to take a while

Inflight wi-fi on American Airlines is changing (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Inflight wi-fi on American Airlines is changing (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

>American Airlines switches up wi-fi providers, Gogo pushes new satellite service and raises prices

In the latest airline effort to bring faster in-flight Wi-Fi to customers, American Airlines plans to move away from Gogo as the supplier for much of its domestic fleet, shifting that business to ViaSat instead.

According to the travel industry news site Skift.com, AA plans to make the switch to ViaSat on more than 500 domestic aircraft – although the changeover is expected to take several years.

Early this year, Gogo agreed to release American from an exclusivity clause in its Wi-Fi contract after the carrier had sued the provider for that relief so that it could look for a higher-speed alternative.

As a result, in June of this year American signed a deal with ViaSat to bring that firm’s satellite-based Wi-Fi technology to the 100 new Boeing 737 Max aircraft that it has ordered. And now AA is extending that embrace of ViaSat to hundreds more of its planes.

Airlines are shifting to Wi-Fi systems that communicate via satellites like this one.. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Airlines are shifting to Wi-Fi systems that communicate via satellites like this one.. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Although American had been one of Gogo’s first airline customers – a relationship going back to 2008 – it became troubled by the provider’s reliance on ground-based cell towers for aircraft communication as other suppliers developed faster satellite-based links. Gogo has since caught up with the trend by rolling out its own next-generation 2Ku satellite-based technology, and American will still go ahead with plans to install that on 140 of its aircraft.

Meanwhile, AA is using yet another supplier – Panasonic – to provide Wi-Fi on its long-haul international fleet. ViaSat has been moving quickly into the U.S. airline market; it also has deals with JetBlue, United and Virgin America.

gogo logo

Gogo continues to accumulate new business from its 2Ku satellite system. It recently signed on Air France-KLM, which plans to install it on 120 planes. In its recent earnings report, Gogo said it now has contracts for 2Ku Wi-Fi service on 1,500 aircraft of 13 airlines.

And Gogo continues to seek revenue boosts by raising its prices for passengers. Last month, the company raised the price from $16 to $19 for a full-day Wi-Fi pass purchased in advance in the Gogo website– although that is still a much better deal than the $50 or more you’ll pay in flight.

What’s been your recent experience using inflight wi-fi? Is it getting better or worse? On my Virgin America flight to/from DC last week, I was pleasantly surprised at the speed and reliability of the connection, but that’s not always the case! 

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Briefs: Alaska/JAL, AA biz seats, BA Wi-Fi, Lufthansa in Silicon Valley

Japan Airlines has a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. (Image: JAL)

Japan Airlines has a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. (Image: JAL)

International carrier news briefs include a new transpacific partnership for Alaska Airlines, a look at American’s new long-haul business class seating, a Wi-Fi decision by British Airways and its siblings, and a move by Lufthansa to fund travel-related start-ups in Silicon Valley.

Starting this summer, members of Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan will be able to earn miles on Japan Airlines, thanks to a new partnership between the two carriers. The code-sharing and frequent flyer cooperation pact will mean seamless connections for travelers between Alaska’s flights and JAL’s transpacific services to Tokyo from San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Vancouver, as well as JAL’s LAX-Osaka service. While mileage-earning on JAL will begin this summer for Mileage Plan members, award travel redemptions on the Japanese carrier “will begin later in 2016,” Alaska said. Strategically, the tie-up with JAL is a logical step for Alaska; its merger partner Virgin America already has an interline partnership with JAL for connections at SFO and LAX, and Alaska recently started a big expansion of code-sharing with American Airlines, which has joint venture and Oneworld global alliance partnerships with the Japanese carrier.

Japan Airlines and Alaska will link up at four West Coast gateways. (Image: JAL)

Japan Airlines and Alaska will link up at four West Coast gateways. (Image: JAL)

American Airlines will turn to a next-generation “Super Diamond” business class seating configuration for its next-generation long-haul international aircraft, according to a report in Forbes. The new seats will all recline fully flat, will be enclosed in a kind of personal shell, and will offer aisle access from every seat. They’ll go into the new 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350s that will be coming to American in the next few years, and will also be retrofitted onto some 777-200s. American recently broke off its ties to French-based seat manufacturer Zodiac and is turning to B/E Aerospace for the new business class seats.

American Airlines' new international business class seat. (Image: American)

American Airlines’ new international business class seat. (Image: American)

International Airlines Group, (IAG), the parent of British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, has signed a deal with Wi-Fi vendor Gogo for installation of that firm’s next-generation 2Ku satellite-based Wi-Fi technology. Passengers should start to see the technology appearing on aircraft next year, and by 2019, IAG said, it should be on 90 percent of the airlines’ long-haul fleets. “In addition to providing faster access to web-based services, passengers will enjoy more entertainment options throughout their entire journey. In the future, inflight Wi-Fi will also transform the duty free experience, allowing travelers to order from their phones and tablets and arrange for items purchased on board to be delivered to their homes,” the company said. It will be installed in BA’s 747s, 777s, 787s and A380s as well as Iberia A330s and A340s and some Aer Lingus 757s.

Gogo will greatly increase broadband satellite Wi-Fi capacity in 2017. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Gogo will greatly increase broadband satellite Wi-Fi capacity in 2017. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Earlier this year, JetBlue announced the formation of a subsidiary that will invest in travel-related technology start-ups in Silicon Valley – and now Lufthansa is doing  the same. The airline said its Lufthansa Innovation Hub unit will team up with Plus and Play, a venture capital group in Silicon Valley. “The objective is to identify and promote innovative technologies and digital business ideas along the entire travel chain,” Lufthansa said. “Over the course of a twelve-week mentoring program, 20 to 30 selected start-ups will receive support for the further development of their business models. They will also make contact with companies in order to talk about partnerships and joint projects as well as investment.” The airline is backing up its interest in Silicon Valley with new San Jose-Frankfurt non-stops due to start July 1.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Delta plans expansion of extra-fast Wi-Fi, liveTV

Delta is bringing faster Wi-Fi to its mainline fleet. (Image: Delta)

Delta is bringing faster Wi-Fi to its mainline fleet. (Image: Delta)

As customers demand big improvements in in-flight Wi-Fi service, Delta said this week it plans to more than double the number of aircraft in its fleet that are equipped with the latest generation of high-speed satellite links, and to bring live streaming TV to those aircraft as well.

The airline said it will extend Wi-Fi vendor Gogo’s new 2Ku satellite-based technology to an additional 350 aircraft, giving it a total of 600 planes with the fast connections. What’s more, “In late 2016, Delta will launch IPTV, giving customers the ability to watch live TV from their own devices on 2Ku-enabled aircraft,” Delta said.

Wi-Fi technology is moving faster than most airlines can keep up. Delta has almost finished installing the first-generation satellite-based Ku band technology on its international widebody fleet of 747s, 767s, 777s and A330s as well as long-haul 757s.

But that is being superseded by Gogo’s 2Ku system, which Delta says “will offer customers faster speeds and bandwidth more than 20 times that of Gogo’s ATG (air-to-ground) technology, allowing for video streaming functionality.” Gogo started out by offering only land-based ATG links, but has had to transition to satellites to keep up with the competition.

The airline said it has already started to install 2Ku systems on its 737-800 and A319 fleets, “and additional fleets will be retrofitted with the new system.” It expects to offer 2Ku on 35 planes by the end of this year. The 2Ku Wi-Fi will also be available on the new A330-900Neos and A350-900s that Delta has on order for delivery over the next few years, the company said.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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New Virgin America prices for faster wi-fi

Virgin America starts charging for fast satellite-based Wi-Fi this month. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America starts charging for fast satellite-based Wi-Fi this month. (Image: Virgin America)

For the past several months, Virgin America has been installing and testing a new satellite-based Wi-Fi system on 10 of its new A320s– and offering the service for free. Those tests have been successfully completed, and this month the airline will start charging for the faster in-flight Internet service, according to a Virgin America blog post.

Virgin said the tests of its new ViaSat satellite-based Wi-Fi found that it operates eight to 10 times faster than other in-flight systems, providing passengers with “speeds similar to what they have at home so they can stream everything from movies to TV shows, music and breaking news to their own devices.”

Effective this week, the Wi-Fi pricing on ViaSat-equipped A320s ranges from $4.99 for short flights (under two hours) to $17.99 for trips longer than five hours (e.g., transcontinental flights). Flights of two to three hours cost $7.99, three to four hours are $9.99 and four to five hour flights charge $13.99 for the fast Wi-Fi. For 5+ hour transcons, the fee will be $17.99. (That’s much cheaper than what you’ll pay for a standard buy-on-board Gogo pass for slower ground-based service, which now fetches over $50.)

Virgin America's new satellite based wi-fi is fast enough to stream movies (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America’s new satellite based wi-fi is fast enough to stream movies (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America said Elevate Gold members will get free ViaSat Wi-Fi through the end of the year, and will get emails with promo codes for access. Since Gogo and ViaSat are separate companies with different platforms, holders of monthly or annual passes for Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi – which is on the rest of Virgin’s fleet – can also access the ViaSat service for free, but will receive emails with access codes. An announcement at the beginning of a flight will tell passengers whether their aircraft has the ViaSat service. Virgin America does not currently offer Wi-Fi on its Hawaii routes, but it’s expected some time this summer.

The airline has teamed up with LinkedIn to offer free “professional development” video tutorials from Lynda.com to all passengers on the ViaSat-equipped planes.

The new service raises competitive questions on some routes – i.e., how will Virgin’s satellite service compete against the free Fly-Fi high-speed service that JetBlue offers on its fleet, especially as JetBlue appeals to more transcon business travelers with the expansion of its Mint premium cabins?

Last fall, JetBlue finished installing the satellite-based Fly-Fi service on its entire Airbus fleet, and it expects to have it on all its E190s by this fall. And so far, the service remains free.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Briefs: Best United clubs, Alaska PreCheck, Delta videos, Air Canada Wi-Fi

United's big bright new Club at London Heathrow Terminal 2. CLICK ON PHOTO FOR SLIDESHOW

United’s big bright Club at London Heathrow Terminal 2. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In airline news this week, United’s customers rate the airline’s best airport lounges; Alaska Mileage Plan members can buy into PreCheck with miles; Delta is bringing new content from Bloomberg into its Delta Studio streaming in-flight entertainment; and Air Canada plans a big expansion of in-flight Wi-Fi.

Which United Clubs do the airline’s passengers like best? According to the Chicago Business Journal, data collected from passengers’ post-flight surveys indicate that they considered the best domestic United Clubs at the airline’s hubs to be at Houston Bush Intercontinental and Denver International. The United Club at Washington Dulles was rated “most improved,” and the best international clubs were at London Heathrow and Mexico City’s Benito Juarez Airport. What’s your favorite United Club? 

Delta is teaming up with Bloomberg to bring new 30-minute videos on business-related topics to the airline’s Delta Studio in-flight entertainment selections. The programming will include three different series of 30-minute videos licensed to Delta: With All Due Respect, about the business of politics; Studio 1.0, about women executives in the tech industry; and Good Fortunes, covering the business of philanthropy. Delta Studio content can be viewed for free on seatback screens or streamed to passengers’ devices.

Breaking: Will Delta buy Virgin America? JetBlue?

PreCheck at Honolulu International (Photo: Hawaiian Airlines / Flickr)

PreCheck at Honolulu International (Photo: Hawaiian Airlines / Flickr)

Through the end of April, Alaska Airlines is letting members of its Mileage Plan program redeem 10,000 miles to pay for the TSA PreCheck program’s application fee. The $85 fee covers a five-year membership in the program, which gives participants access to expedited security screening procedures. To take advantage of the offer, e-mail y0ur name and Mileage Plan number to TSAredemption@alaskaair.com by April 30. The airline will deduct the miles from your account and e-mail you an authorization code to use when applying for PreCheck.

Air Canada, which already offers in-flight Wi-Fi on all its North American single-aisle aircraft, said this week it plans to expand the amenity to its international flights. The company said it has signed a deal with Gogo to install that provider’s new 2Ku satellite-based Wi-Fi service on its international wide-bodies starting this fall. The airline’s 777s will be the first to add the new Wi-Fi.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Looking to the sky to speed up inflight wi-fi

Gogo will greatly increase broadband satellite Wi-Fi capacity in 2017. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Gogo will greatly increase broadband satellite Wi-Fi capacity in 2017. (Image: SES/Airbus Defence & Space)

Everybody who uses in-flight Wi-Fi tends to complain about the slow speeds, lost signals and so on, but if travelers can hang on a bit longer, it looks like significant improvements are coming. Gogo, one of the leading providers of the service, just inked a big new satellite deal, and a European consultancy sees a bright future for the technology, which is spreading to more aircraft and more airlines.

Gogo said it has signed “one of the largest satellite capacity deals ever” in the commercial airline market with a satellite operator called SES, in order “to meet the growing demand for high-speed in-flight connectivity.”

The deal will give Gogo access to a pair of SES satellites due to be launched next year that will cover all of North America, Central and South America, the Caribbean and the North Atlantic. A third satellite, also due to launch in 2017, will expand Gogo’s coverage to flights over Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Russia.

“This deal will dramatically increase bandwidth and drive overall costs per bit down by orders of magnitude,” Gogo chief technology officer Anand Chariu said. The satellites will provide “high throughput spot beam and wide beam capacity,” the company said—in other words, much greater bandwidth and download speeds. And airlines already signed up for Gogo’s 2Ku technology will be able to transition to the newer satellite service “without any equipment modifications.” The new satellites will also increase capacity for Gogo’s live TV product, Gogo TV. Gogo has been gradually transitioning its service from ground-based to satellite-based technology.

Gogo’s news comes on the heels of a recent lawsuit filed against it by American Airlines, which sought to invoke an escape clause in its contract with Gogo so it could look for faster Wi-Fi service from other vendors. The suit was dropped this week after Gogo said it wouldn’t challenge American’s plans, and that it expected to give American a better proposal of its own.

Earlier this month, the global consulting firm Euroconsult issued a report predicting that revenues from passenger connectivity services on airlines will grow from $700 million last year to $5.4 billion within a decade. It said that the number of connected aircraft jumped by 21 percent just in the 12 months of 2015, and that the ongoing launch of “high throughput satellites” (HTS) including Ku- and Ka-band “is expected to be a game changer in the in-flight connectivity market.”

“HTS systems will not only tremendously increase data speeds to the plane compared to regular satellite systems, but will also significantly lower costs, thereby further driving the adoption of IFC (in-flight connectivity) services,” said Euroconsult’s Geoffrey Stern. “With more airlines opting for cabin connectivity, companies that have not yet made a decision will be increasingly pressured to offer such services to match their competitors.”

The company said it expects that over the next decade, the number of connected commercial aircraft will grow from 5,300 to 23,100, or 62 percent of the global fleet.

Some airlines are already feeling the pressure. Air France, which has long been a holdout against in-flight Wi-Fi, said last week that it has changed its tune, and will start putting the technology into its international fleet later this year. The French carrier is said to be looking into a model like that in the hotel industry, which would provide basic service free to its passengers, while charging a fee for higher download speeds.

Meanwhile, Qantas said this week that in 2017 it plans to deploy free Wi-Fi for passengers on its domestic Australian routes, thanks to a partnership with ViaSat that will offer “speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional on-board Wi-Fi, giving customers the ability to stream movies, TV shows, the latest news bulletins and live sports.”

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Trip Report: Virgin America SFO-Honolulu

Virgin America

Headed west out over open water on one of Virgin’s new ETOPS rated A320s (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last week I jumped on a Virgin America flight to the islands- my first since the carrier launched nonstops from San Francisco to Honolulu and Maui late last year. It has since announced that it will add nonstops from LAX to Hawaii later this year.

Virgin’s entry into the Hawaii market has helped spur a fare war, with flights frequently falling into the low $300’s round trip from the west coast- quite a good bargain! The California-to-Hawaii market is packed with nonstops from nearly every other US carrier, including Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian and United.

"Flights with Benefits" is the racy name for one of Virgin America's new A320 ETOPS jets (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

“Flights with Benefits” is the racy name for one of Virgin America’s new A320 ETOPS jets (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

To be able to offer these flights, Virgin needed a new plane, an ETOPS-rated Airbus A320 (pictured above) that is equipped to fly long distances over water. So that’s the first thing I noticed when I boarded– that “new plane smell” as well as a shimmering new surfaces lit with purple hues from its mod mood lighting.

This A320 also has the newer, higher-definition version of the RED seatback entertainment system– which includes a much more robust, interactive inflight mapping program that kept me occupied for hours. (I am usually much more entertained by the inflight map than inflight movies!)

Inflight internet & live TV not yet operable on Hawaii flights (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Inflight internet & live TV not yet operable on Hawaii flights (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Despite the fab new seatback system, I was disappointed to learn that the plane’s satellite-based connectivity system is not working yet, which means no inflight internet or live TV for the 5+ hour flight. Flight attendants rolled their eyes when I asked about this…saying that it’s a very common complaint from Virgin America regulars who love their inflight wi-fi. Regrettably they said that they don’t expect it to be operable until “later this year.” A Virgin spokesperson responded, “Not quite yet” when I asked when the service would be working.

Despite connectivity issues, the RED system does not disappoint– even without a connection, there’s a full roster of very good, current movies and TV shows to watch, some great indie and international choices, and that wonderful inflight mapping feature.

While this picture-of-a-picture is grainy, in real life seat back images are sharp (Chris McGinnis)

While this picture-of-a-picture is grainy, in real life seat back map images are sharp & interactive (Chris McGinnis)

Another downside on these 5+ hour nonstops is crowding at the back of the plane when lines for for the two lavatories form. On my flight, there was a nearly constant queue back there, especially 2-3 hours in. That’s uncomfortable for passengers seated the last 3-4 rows as well as flight attendants who told me that due to a new configuration of the galley area, they are unable to sit down for rest breaks. Luckily on this flight I upgraded to Main Cabin Select, and was seated in row 10 over the wing (exit row).

See Seatguru’s seatmap of Virgin’s newest A320

Main cabin on a new Virgin America A320 seats 138 (Chris McGinnis)

Main cabin on a new Virgin America A320 seats 138 (Chris McGinnis)

Overall, the flight was very nice and a standout when compared to other carriers– much like nearly all my Virgin America experiences. But to be honest, I was hoping for a bit more fun and celebration about the fact that we were flying to Hawaii. A lei, a flower or slice of pineapple in a cocktail, an aloha shirt or maybe a little ukele music over the PA system would have been a nice addition. All I saw that celebrated this a flight to paradise was a can of POG (Passion, Orange, Guava) juice available on the seatback food & drink ordering system. Nonetheless, the flight was pleasant and on-time.

Take a spin through my trip in the slides below:

At 6:45 am, PreCheck at SFO's Terminal 2 was a breeze (Chris McGinnis)

At 6:45 am, PreCheck at SFO’s Terminal 2 was a breeze (Chris McGinnis)

 

Gorgeous sunrise lights up our new A320 and SFO control tower (Chris McGinnis)

Gorgeous sunrise lights up our new A320 and SFO control tower for a 7:30 am departure (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America

This is what a brand new Virgin America A320 looks like: black leather & mood lights. Wow (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America

Plenty of knee room on exit row 10 Main Cabin Select (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America

Seatback mapping system provides trip stats. Note that image is much clearer that what shows in this photo (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America

Note the clear HD image, and the POG reminder that this flight is paradise-bound! (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America

My go-to meal on Virgin America, the Protein Plate & Honest T Green Tea, did not disappoint (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America

My seatmate ordered the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And a POG (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America

I love the healthy food options on Virgin- this is one of three pages of choices- order from the screen & flight attendant delivers (Chris McGinnis)

 

IMG_2545

One of two shiny new lavs at the back of this A320 (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America

Flying over gorgeous Oahu on approach to HNL (Chris McGinnis)

 

Had some fun scrambling around Kauai! (Chris McGinnis)

Had some fun scrambling around Kauai! Then headed back (Chris McGinnis)

 

Japan Airlines HNL

I love Honolulu’s open air corridors. Such a nice welcome to paradise 🙂 (Chris McGinnis)

 

Spectacular view of Honolulu at take off. Note the sparkles in the paint on the engine! (Chris McGinnis)

Spectacular view of Honolulu at take off for SFO. Note the sparkles in the paint on the engine! (Chris McGinnis)

 

Virgin America Honolulu Waikiki

Final look at Waikiki and Diamond Head on our way back to SFO. Aloha! (Chris McGinnis)

What’s your favorite way to get to Hawaii? Been lately? Please leave your comments below.

–Chris McGinnis

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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Delta nearly done with global wi-fi rollout; United, AA catching up

Delta now offers Wi-Fi on all of its transatlantic flights. (Image: Delta)

Delta now offers Wi-Fi on all of its transatlantic flights. (Image: Delta)

As in-flight Internet service provider Gogo continues to enhance its product with the addition of satellite networks for overseas flights, Delta has been  gradually equipping its international aircraft with that new technology. And now it has finished a major piece of that effort, offering high-speed Wi-Fi on all of its transatlantic flights.

Delta said this week that the Ku-band satellite service is now available on up to 83 daily roundtrip flights across the pond, including all its London Heathrow flights as well as service to 27 European cities, Tel Aviv, and the African destinations of Accra, Dakar and Lagos.

Besides the paid Wi-Fi service, Delta said customers who bring personal electronic devices on those routes can also get free access to its Delta Studio selection of streaming movies and TV programs.

After finishing the latest installations, Delta said that the addition of satellite Wi-Fi to its 767s, 747s, A330s and transoceanic 757s in addition to its domestic aircraft now gives it “the world’s largest Wi-Fi equipped fleet.”

gogo logo

Buy one, get one. Gogo is currently offering a special deal on Delta Wi-Fi; through February 29, Gogo said on its website, customers who buy one Delta Global Day Pass for $28 will get a second one for free — a savings of $60 over the in-flight purchase price. Each pass is good for 24 hours of access on any Gogo-equipped Delta flight, and they’re valid for a year.

United Airlines is also making considerable progress in equipping its long-haul fleet with satellite-based Wi-Fi. The airline says on its website that all 74 of its 777s now have Wi-Fi, as do all 22 of its 747-400s and 98 percent of its 767s. Installations on its 787 Dreamliners are 68 percent finished, covering 17 aircraft, United said, with completion of all the rest slated for June.

The cost of Internet access on United aircraft “will vary,” the airline says, although it gives no examples, and notes that it does not offer daily, weekly or monthly Wi-Fi passes, “but we may offer these options in the future.”

Related: How to save $$ on pricey inflight internet

“We are in the process of launching a newly designed portal with multiple payment options,” United notes. “With this new portal, on select aircraft, you will have additional Internet access options, such as time-based plans (e.g., 30 minutes, 1 hour) or full flight access, as well as the ability to purchase Internet with your MileagePlus award miles or a saved credit card in your MileagePlus account.”

American Airlines currently offers international Wi-Fi service on its 787s, 777-300ERs and “select” 777-200s (it doesn’t say how many), at rates ranging from $12 for two hours to $19 for the full flight.

What’s your experience been when using wi-fi on international flights? From my seat, I get better coverage over an ocean than I do over land, but maybe that’s just me? Comments, please!

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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8 fun facts about inflight wi-fi

IcelandAir says it has inflight wi-fi on 95% of its transatlantic flights

IcelandAir says it has inflight wi-fi on 95% of its transatlantic flights

A recent infographic about inflight wi-fi prepared by Icelandair caught our eye this month. It contains a mountain of info about one of our favorite subjects, and for your reading pleasure, we’ve excised some of the keenest facts, and then provided the entire graphic below. Enjoy!

1> Fifteen years ago, in 2000, only 4% of US households had broadband. Today it’s 87%. Remember this sound? 

2> Every month, two million airline passengers connect to inflight wi-fi, which has only been around since 2004.

3> The average American spends between eight and nine hours per week online—about 35 hours per month.

4> Only 18% of travelers travel with phone, tablet and laptop. (Wait, I thought everyone did that!)

5> In 2013 a whopping 84% of inflight wi-fi users used the Apple OS vs Android. Device type is nearly evenly split three ways between phones, tablets and laptops.

6> While it may not always feel like it, inflight wi-fi speeds are increasing rapidly. For example, Icelandair says that when inflight wi-fi was first introduced in 2004, speed was about 3 Mbps. The newest versions of air-to-ground systems (like Gogo’s) run at about 70 Mbps while satellite based systems (like United’s) run at about 50Mbps.

7> Each seatback entertainment system weighs 13 pounds. Removing those systems and having passengers access systems via their own devices would conserve 80 metric tons of fuel year on a single 260-seat Boeing 767. (In the US, United has tried this approach with mixed results.)

8> Outfitting a typical plane with seatback entertainment systems costs about $3 million per plane.

For all the fun facts, take a spin through the infographic below:

Related: Gogo prices up 50%- How to save?

Icelandair_In-Flight_WIFI

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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‘Don’t seat me next to Trump’ + United snacks + Gogo’s new $3 pass + Holiday travel forecast

Here are some newsy nuggets from other sources that we missed on TravelSkills this week:

What's a stroopwafel? Find out soon on United. (Image: United)

What’s a stroopwafel? Find out soon on United. (Image: United)

United will bring back free snacks for economy passengers in February.

Gogo introduces new “messaging only” Wi-Fi pass for just $3.

Legroom, disruptive travelers top “passenger peeves” poll.

Air New Zealand tries facial recognition technology for bag drops at Auckland.

Business traveler survey identifies Trump as “worst seatmate.”

Odd video of the week: Artist fashions miniature Singapore Airlines seats out of paper.

Congressman files legislation to protect airline passengers’ bathroom rights.

Japan Airlines introduces a new domestic air pass for foreign visitors.

Airline group issues traffic forecast for a busy holiday travel period.

Airbus creates a design for “stacked seats” in A350 economy cabin.

Boeing rolls out the newest version of its popular 737.

Kuala Lumpur Airport tries to locate owner of three abandoned 747s.

KLM will use a robot to guide passengers around Schiphol Airport.

Starwood adds some members of Design Hotels group as its newest brand.

 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  New Oakland-London route + Big hotel acquisition + Uber at Las Vegas McCarran + American’s international Premium Economy service + Healthy eating for travelers

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Fast inflight wi-fi progressing slowly

 

Inflight wi-fi is getter faster...but very slowly (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Inflight wi-fi is getter faster…but very slowly (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Last week the New York Times asked TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis for his opinions and advice about the state of in-flight wi-fi for a story that appeared in its print and online versions.
The NYT reporter asked: Is connectivity/speed about to get better on flights? If so, good enough to meet the public’s demands/expectations? (Or yours)?) Will usage fees for passengers drop — or go away altogether or some airlines? If so, when?
Chris responded with the blurb below, from which the reporter extracted a few key morsels for the his story Fast and Free In-Flight Wi-Fi Is Uncharted Territory for Airlines.

Here’s how Chris replied:

Connectivity is indeed getting better on flights, but it’s a very slow process, which is frustrating to business travelers who increasingly rely on the service.

The thing that frequent travelers must realize it that inflight wi-fi is still a very new product, and the expectation that you’ll get a good, strong signal like you do at home of office needs to be reined in. Airlines are partially to blame for inflating expectations.

Consistency is the biggest issue on major carriers, but less so on smaller carriers. For example, JetBlue’s satellite-based FlyFi system is excellent and relatively consistent. Virgin America has Gogo’s latest, fastest ATG-4 ground based system on all its planes, which means a more consistent experience. But both have small fleets compared to the majors which makes consistency easier.

United’s satellite-based system is great when it works, but out of four recent flights, it’s only worked on one of them for me. United uses several different systems on different planes in different parts of the world, so the experience is far from consistent, regrettably. On my regular flights between Atlanta and San Francisco on Delta, I’ve had mixed experiences, especially when flying on a big 767 when there are a lot more passengers logging on to Gogo– the signal goes in and out, which is very frustrating.

Virgin America is installing a new satellite-based system on its new planes that should help increase reliability, but right now, it’s only on two or three of its newest planes, a fact that is downplayed in all the recent promotion of its deal with Spotify, Netflix, etc. All its other planes have ground-based Gogo ATG-4, which is good, but it’s still tough getting a signal on a biz travel heavy morning flight between SFO and JFK, for example.

Putting wi-fi on planes is expensive, so I do not expect the freebies (as on Virgin and JetBlue) to last. Plus, charging for the service limits usage, and limited usage leads to better connections onboard, which is part of the reason Gogo has increased it’s prices so much recently– to improve performance.

Are you a regular user of inflight wi-fi? Has you experience been getting better or worse lately? Please leave your comments below. 


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Shut up! No, YOU shut up! Inflight phone fight looms

13 million flyers used OnAir's mobile phone service from planes last year (Photo: SITA OnAir)

Fliers connected 13 million times to OnAir’s mobile phone service last year (Photo: SITA OnAir)

Is a federal ban on inflight mobile phone calls on planes really necessary? Or should the decision be left up to airlines?

This week a Transportation Department committee recommended that airlines (not the federal government) should decide whether passengers can make phone calls during flights.

Last year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) considered ending the federal ban when was determined that cellular service onboard planes was not a threat to aircraft navigation or communications systems.

The possibility of inflight calling resulted a rancorous debate– passengers and lawmakers claimed that cell phone use on planes could lead to inflight mayhem— they said it could interfere with flight attendants’ ability to do their jobs keeping passengers safe and the cabin environment calm. They added that inflight phoning would exacerbate the already tense atmosphere in tightly packed planes– think “Shut up! No, YOU shut up!”

With pushback like that, the decision was put off, but now it’s popping up again…

Inflight cell phone for voice calls use is already permitted by many airlines around the world.  Even highly regulated Europe relaxed its ban on flight calls way back in 2008. None have reported any of the mayhem predicted by US politicians.

Companies that provide cellular service onboard say that calls usually don’t last more than two minutes and the service is only used by a handful of passengers on any given flight. They say that most passengers choose to use their mobile phones for texting instead. “Inflight mobile phone usage is not causing the disruption the naysayers have predicted,” says OnAir’s Francoise Rodriguez.” Millions of people connected inflight on planes last year without a single complaint about noisy phone calls.”

In the US, Delta’s CEO publicly stated last year that it will not allow the use of mobile phones for voice calls during flight with or without a federal ban. Matt Miller, American Airlines spokesman sounded a bit softer on the issue this week saying, “We’ll keep the wishes of our customers in mind if the rules governing cell phone use shift from the government to individual airlines.”

Airlines for America, the airline trade group, agrees with the committee’s recommendation, too: “We’ve always said it should be up to the airlines to decide what’s best for their employees and customers,” said spokeswoman Jean Medina.

Gogo’s popular inflight wi-fi system has the capability to handle voice calls, but for now, the VOIP calls are blocked on commercial flights. But the ability to use inflight wi-fi for voice calls is a very popular feature on Gogo-equipped private jets. Gogo currently offers free texting (only) on commercial flights for T-Mobile customers.

Elsewhere, airlines that have adopted the onboard technology have the ability to turn voice calling on or off– and some, like Lufthansa, have decided to keep it off. Ryanair, Europe’s largest carrier,  experimented with allowing cell phone use on its planes in 2009 and dumped the idea due to lack of interest.

Screen Shot 2015-09-02 at 9.20.13 AM

Airlines that offer Aeromobile’s inflight SMS or phone service

Here are lists of airlines that offer inflight mobile phone or SMS service via Aeromobile or OnAir.

Why don’t people in these other countries yack endlessly on their cell phones on planes if they can? Because using a mobile phone on a plane is not the same as using it on the ground. It’s very expensive… To make a call, you first have to set your phone to international roaming, and then calls cost about $3-$4 per minute– and charges appear on your mobile phone bill.

Vintage seatback phone. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Vintage seatback phone. Who used em? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Does anyone remember those GTE or Verizon phones installed in nearly every airline seatback in the 1990s? People could use those phones with the swipe of a credit card, at similarly steep rates, if they wanted to. But they did not.

Because of the cost (and peer pressure) I really don’t think that cell phone use onboard planes is all that big of an issue. Usage patterns here would not be too different from elsewhere in the world.

If the feds are searching for something to regulate, what about enforcing a minimum seat pitch and seat width aboard aircraft? If they are truly concerned about reducing stress and controlling mayhem in airline cabins, a standard 33 inches between seats that are no less than 18 inches wide would go a long way. This week, a federal panel recommended that airlines be required to disclose seat size, and that FAA should enforce a minimum amount of personal space that must be allotted per passenger

So what you you think… should the federal government to tell airlines if they can or cannot allow cell phone use for voice calls onboard planes? Or should the feds stay out of the airline business altogether?

I’d love to hear your comments! Please leave them below.

–Chris McGinnis

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Changes coming fast for Virgin America wi-fi

A Virgin America passenger logs onto her iPad. (Image: Virgin America)

A Virgin America passenger logs onto her iPad. (Image: Virgin America)

The next 10 Airbus A320s delivered to Virgin America Airlines will have a new passenger enhancement: Satellite-based Wi-Fi that the carrier says will deliver data speeds eight to 10 times faster than any other in-flight Wi-Fi systems.

Virgin said it is partnering with ViaSat, Inc. — the same company that JetBlue is using for its next-generation Fly-Fi service. Virgin’s fleet is currently equipped with Gogo’s ground-based Wi-Fi service.

While the new satellite technology will be installed on the next 10 new planes to be delivered, “the airline has not yet made a technology decision with respect to the rest of the fleet,” a spokesman told TravelSkills. That could prove troublesome for Virgin America regulars who hold annual or monthly Gogo passes and expect the service on every plane.

So it sounds like Gogo’s deal with Virgin could be under review. Hmm. Stay tuned…

In any case, the first of those new planes will start flying for Virgin in September of this year, and will offer free Internet service during a testing period. Virgin said it has not yet determined passenger pricing for the ViaSat links, which it noted will also make Wi-Fi available on over-water flights like the Hawaii service it will begin later this year.

“With this new technology, Virgin America will become the first commercial airline to offer an in-flight Wi-Fi service that can operate in both Ku- and Ka-band satellite networks on the same aircraft,” the spokesman said. Ka-band technology provides greater digital bandwidth than the earlier Ku-band. 

With the ViaSat service, Virgin said, passengers should achieve Internet speeds like those they can get at home, allowing for streaming video on their connected devices. The new satellite partnership news comes just a month after Virgin announced an improved version of its Red in-flight entertainment system, called Red Beta. That will bring new high-resolution seatback screens and a new Android-based platform to the airline’s fleet.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Two new nonstops to India + New Centurion lounge opens + Planespotting 101: Airbus + Pay to join loyalty programs? + More!


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Big jump in inflight wi-fi speed

Gogo says new technology will increase Wi-Fi speeds tenfold. (Image: Delta)

Gogo says new technology will increase Wi-Fi speeds tenfold. (Image: Delta)

Do you still avoid in-flight Wi-Fi because it’s just too slow compared to the data speeds you get everywhere else?  Leading Wi-Fi vendor Gogo is predicting huge improvements in the years ahead as it transitions to satellite-based technology from ground-based transmissions.

In a presentation to investors, and in a filing with the SEC, Gogo — which supplies Wi-Fi service to the bulk of the domestic aircraft that offer it — said that within five years, customers should be seeing data speeds of up to 100 megabits per second, up from the current peak of 10 Mbps. That’s good for tasks up to and including streaming video.

The company noted that satellite-based technology will give it worldwide coverage, increasing its potential customer base among airlines.  Gogo dominates the domestic carrier market, holding contracts with Delta, Virgin America and American, among others. But Gogo’s not the fastest wi-fi around– most frequent travelers agree that JetBlue and United (both with their own proprietary satellite-based systems, not Gogo) win when it comes to speed.

Related: Gogo prices up 50% 

The new 2ku satellite-based Wi-Fi is expected to cost airlines a lot less than the current technology, Gogo officials said, and is likely to increase passenger usage, bringing in more revenue.

The company said in its filing it expects the number of connected commercial aircraft worldwide to more than double over the next 18 years. It noted that its revenues have shown a compound annual growth rate of 62 percent over the last five years.

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Gogo prices up 50%

TravelSkills reader E.B. contacted us last week about an email he received from Gogo. It said that his unlimited inflight wi-fi subscription would increase a hefty 50%– from $40 per month to a painful $60 starting in July.

We contacted Gogo, and a spokesperson confirmed that the price increase was announced last year, and is just now going into effect for existing members who had signed up on the old rate.

Gogo's current online prices.

Gogo’s current online prices.

Is having unlimited Gogo worth $60 a month? Or does that price point push you out of the market?

Gogo has been doing much experimentation with pricing over the last year, and its current strategy seems to be to raise prices to the point where fewer people actually use the system. We’ve seen the price of day passes bought onboard rise to a whopping $50, which definitely discourages casual use on the plane.

With fewer users draining bandwidth, the service performs better– right? Have you noticed more reliable connection speeds? I have to say that we’ve definitely noticed fewer complaints about Gogo in recent months, so maybe the strategy is working?

For some power users with a nice expense account, $60 per month might still be worth it. But for me, the most economical strategy is to always have a few day passes pre-purchased online in my account and ready to use when I need them. Day passes bought online are just $16 each– still a bargain!

Twitter

Gogo’s prices when purchased onboard. Do you follow Chris on Twitter? @cjmcginnis CLICK!

My strategy: Don’t buy Gogo on the plane. I was surprised to see the price for a Gogo wi-fi day pass on a Delta transcon flight at a whopping $50 recently– the highest I’ve ever seen it. I’m very glad I took the minute or two while waiting in line to board to buy a day pass in advance on Gogo’s website for just $16, saving $34. If you are a inflight wi-fi freak like me, buy your passes ahead of time. It’s quick and easy– buy one or more passes online before the flight, save them to your account, and when you sign on from the plane, access your pass and you are on. For $16 instead of $50. Buy Gogo passes here. 

Southwest offers wi-fi for just $8 per day per device, but we hear regularly that service is very spotty. 

Regrettably, United still does not offer a pre-purchase option yet– here’s a shot from its inflight wi-fi FAQ page: 

Screen Shot 2015-03-07 at 8.57.38 AM–Chris McGinnis

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Super-fast Gogo wi-fi coming to a plane near you

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Star Wars invade DEN + United’s new 50,000 mile bonus + Secret stash of hidden hotel deals + Big new carrier for ATL+ Roomier widebodies on domestic flights! 

The external antennas for Gogo's 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi should reduce drag on the aircraft. (Image: Gogo)

The external antennas for Gogo’s 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi should reduce drag on the aircraft. (Image: Gogo)

Although Gogo was the clear frontrunner in bringing Wi-Fi to commercial airlines in the U.S., its usage rate seems to have stalled at around 7 percent of the passengers on any given flight.

But the company says it is on the verge of major advances in the technology that should boost that rate and make for happier users.

In the meantime, Gogo says that it plans to keep a lid on demand by jacking up prices as high as $50 for an inflight daypass.

But that could change later this year.

According to a report from Quartz, Gogo will soon begin a big transition from ground-based to satellite-based data transmission. The so-called 2Ku satellite technology shows promise of increasing Gogo’s Wi-Fi data speeds from the current 10 megabits per second to 70 Mbps, and eventually to 100 Mbps.

Besides allowing passengers on domestic flights to comfortably stream movies, the 2Ku satellite technology will also allow Gogo to bring its service to long-haul overseas flights that the ground-based Wi-Fi couldn’t reach.   

Related: JetBlue FlyFi internet to remain free & allow streaming

Gogo has orders for the new 2Ku from carriers with hundreds of aircraft, including Delta — its biggest customer — and partner Virgin Atlantic. The company said the new 2Ku service should become available starting later this year.

Readers: Would you use in-flight Wi-Fi more often if you could get a faster, more reliable connection? What would you use it for? Post your comments.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Star Wars invade DEN + United’s new 50,000 mile bonus + Secret stash of hidden hotel deals + Big new carrier for ATL+ Roomier widebodies on domestic flights! 


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Don’t buy Gogo onboard + Virgin to Hawaii? + Clever Delta ad + LaGuardia slots

Twitter

Gogo’s prices when purchased onboard. Do you follow Chris on Twitter? @cjmcginnis CLICK!

Don’t buy Gogo on the plane. I was surprised to see the price for a Gogo wi-fi day pass on a Delta transcon flight at a whopping $50 last week– the highest I’ve ever seen it. I’m very glad I took the minute or two while waiting in line to board to buy a day pass in advance on Gogo’s website for just $16, saving $34. If you are a inflight wi-fi freak like me, buy your passes ahead of time. It’s quick and easy– buy one or more passes online before the flight, save them to your account, and when you sign on from the plane, access your pass and you are on. For $16 instead of $50. Buy Gogo passes here.  Southwest offers wi-fi for just $8 per day per device, but we hear regularly that service is very spotty. Regrettably, United does not offer a pre-purchase option yet– here’s a shot from its inflight wi-fi FAQ page: 

Screen Shot 2015-03-07 at 8.57.38 AM

Are you a winner or loser? “A switch to a revenue-based frequent-flyer program from a miles-based model causes a loss, though a negligible one, in points earned for domestic U.S. flyers, according to research released this week by PricewaterhouseCoopers,” reports Business Travel News. Examining mainland U.S. domestic routes on the 11 largest U.S. airlines, the PwC study determined that travelers on average earn 45 fewer reward points per one-way trip when accrual is based on dollars spent. But the switch will more deeply affect a Weekend Editionclear set of “winners” and “losers,” according to the report. Winners = business travelers driven by schedule more than price and frequent short-haul travelers. Losers: travelers who frequently fly nonstop routes and travelers who tend to buy tickets well in advance.

Virgin eyes Hawaii service; AA to LaGuardia. Virgin America hopes to add Hawaii to its route map, and American Airlines said it would like to launch LaGuardia-West Coast service if that New York airport gets rid of its existing “perimeter rule” that precludes such long-haul flights. Virgin reportedly hopes to take advantage of more fuel-efficient A320s equipped with “Sharklets” on their wings to begin new flights from the West Coast to Hawaii, perhaps as soon as later this year. Meanwhile, AA president Scott Kirby told an aviation conference last week that if LaGuardia’s limit on flight distance is relaxed, his company would like to operate “a lot of flights from LaGuardia to the West Coast,” although he noted that would require major infrastructure enhancements at relatively decrepit LGA. In any case, if the perimeter rules are relaxed, the Port Authority is going to have to mix and match the limited number of slots available at LGA– which could be contentious and messy. 

Virgin Atlantic adds Dreamliner at SFO, elsewhere

New Delta ad. Does business travel allow you the time and opportunity to indulge “the child within you?” Delta seems to think that it does — or it should — and illustrates that idea along with a jaunty song in an unusual new TV ad. What do you think of the Delta ad: Does it capture the essence of your business travel experience? See video here Please leave your comments below. 

New SFO-Auckland service coming? Press reports from New Zealand indicate that Air New Zealand could lose its current monopoly on non-stop flights to North America. The reports said United is considering the launch of non-stop San Francisco-Auckland flights with a 787 Dreamliner, and that American — a joint venture partner with Qantas — has its eye on new Los Angeles-Auckland service. Qantas pulled out of the non-stop LAX-Auckland market three years ago.

scough

The new Scough could help you avoid colds & flu. Or hide from your enemies (Photo: Scough)

‘Scuse my Scough. How can you protect your health aboard a germy airplane during flu season without wearing a surgical mask? A Brooklyn start-up is producing what it calls the Scough — a scarf with an embedded active-carbon filter “impregnated with silver ions,” designed to protect the wearer from the germs of others (or to protect others from your germs). Priced from $49, they’re intended to be more fashionable and less conspicuous than more medical-looking devices (until you wrap them around your nose and mouth, perhaps giving you a slight resemblance to a stagecoach robber or a terrorist).

Why you should change the credit cards you carry

In Case You Missed it…

>Which cities worldwide have the best (and worst) quality of life?

>United renovates airport clubs, boosts food quality.

>Virgin Atlantic will boost San Francisco schedule with a 787.

>Hilton finally jumps on the free Wi-Fi

Don’t miss TOMORROW’s Weekend edition where we cover: Several new route announcements, Southwest on bag fees, Etihad’s residence in NYC, Lufthansa’s upgrades, a big batch of new hotels and more Amex Gold Card bennies.

World’s 10 highest (and lowest) quality cities

How to enjoy dining alone

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Southwest growth spurt + Better food? + Wi-fi on Delta + Hilton double + Whatever!

Umm BBQ on United. Is airline food getting better overall? (Photo: United)

Mmm, BBQ on United. Is airline food getting better overall? (Photo: United)

Southwest grows at Love again. It was just a couple of weeks ago that Southwest Airlines announced plans for a new round of expansion at Dallas Love Field on April 9, when it will add non-stop service to 10 new cities. And now the airline says it will grow even more, adding eight more destinations from Love starting August 9. Those cities, which will each get one daily roundtrip, include Boston, Charlotte, Detroit, Omaha, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham and Salt Lake City. On the same date, Southwest will increase frequencies between DAL and Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Houston Hobby, Little Rock, Chicago Midway and Seattle; and will boost DAL-Charleston, S.C. service from weekly to daily. Meanwhile, Southwest has sent out a targeted promotion to select Rapid Rewards members offering them double points on flights to and from Love Field through July 31. (Virgin America has been running a double miles promotion for Texas flights through March 31. Will Southwest and Delta use the same tactic against new competition from Spirit and Frontier at Atlanta?)

Umm BBQ on United. Last month, United Airlines introduced upgraded meal service for premium-cabin domestic travelers in its mainline fleet. And this month it is doing the same for the front cabins of United Express flights. The new cuisine, served on china, was introduced March 1 on Embraer E170s and E175s, and will be rolled out on CRJ700s and Q400s starting in April. Breakfasts include things like a fresh fruit plate, yogurt and breakfast bread; lunches and dinners offer two entree choices like a barbecue chicken and coleslaw sandwich, or ginger and garlic marinated beef. Desserts will be triple chocolate chunk cookies. First and biz class meals seem to be getting a LOT better on all airlines these days. Agree or disagree? Leave comments below. 

How to enjoy dining alone

Whatever Woman by Phil Gyford / Flickr

Whatever Woman by Phil Gyford / Flickr

Survey probes mileage plan changes. Now that both Delta and United have switched their loyalty programs from a miles-flown basis to a money-spent regime, website MileCards.com surveyed more than 1,000 “active frequent flyer program members” to see what they thought of the changes. Perhaps most surprising, 71 percent said they didn’t even know about the switch. (They must not be reading TravelSkills!) And of those who did, more than three out of five said it didn’t matter to them. Why not? A great many frequent travelers have credit cards from their preferred airline, and of those who do, three out of five say they earn more miles on the card than they do in the air. Still, 24 percent of the respondents said they would probably book Delta or United less often because of the change, while just 9 percent said they would book those airlines more often. What about you? Has the move toward revenue-based programs changed your travel habits at all? Or is your attitude more “whatever!” 

New HHonors promotion. Hilton has revived its “Double Your HHonors” promotion, offering double HHonors points or double airline miles for stays from March 1 through May 31. Members can register for the promotion and see all the details at www.HHonors.com/Double.

InflightWiFiuser

(photo: Gogo)

Delta upgrades Wi-Fi. Delta said it plans to enhance and expand coverage of its in-flight Wi-Fi service by switching from Gogo’s air-to-ground technology to its new satellite-based 2Ku service, starting next year. Delta said the upgrade will go into more than 250 of its aircraft, bringing faster Internet service to long-haul domestic routes as well as flights to Latin America and the Caribbean. Aircraft getting the upgrade include 757-300s and -200s, 737-800s and -900ERs, and Airbus A319s. New A321s coming in 2016 will also have the upgrade. The airline said it also plans to enhance Wi-Fi service on its short-haul domestic fleet by using Gogo’s next-generation air-to-ground technology, bringing “faster connections at broadband speeds.” That includes 717-200s, MD-88s and MD-90s. Currently, only Virgin America has Gogo’s faster ATG-4 system fleetwide.

West Coast – New York LaGuardia flights on horizon?

Visa Checkout on smartphones

Visa Checkout on smartphones

Virgin adds new payment option. Virgin America said it has become the first U.S. carrier to add Visa Checkout as a payment option on its website (www.virginamerica.com). “After signing up once, Visa Checkout removes the need to enter card details during the online checkout process wherever consumers see the Visa Checkout button,” Virgin said. Visa Checkout accepts all credit and debit cards, including Virgin America-branded cards. Customers who use Visa Checkout on Virgin’s website through March 15 can get $25 off a future flight.

Weekend Edition

Coming in tomorrow’s Weekend Edition: Following up on United’s fare errors, new transcon lie-flat biz class, new Mileage Plus redemption options, Marriott’s expiring points, update on Hilton’s 1,000 bonus point snafu.

In Case You Missed It…

  • Virgin’s first class opts for plush pillows over lie-flat transcon seats.

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Ranking inflight wi-fi by airline

I'm always happy to see a sign like this one on my recent JetBlue flight to New York (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I’m always happy to see a sign like this one on my recent JetBlue flight to New York (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

I’m addicted to inflight wi-fi and my ticket purchase decision is nearly always dependent on wi-fi availability onboard. That’s probably because I run an online business and being offline for long periods can have significant consequences.

But it’s not just me. I’ve noticed a big increase in the number of passengers onboard accessing wi-fi from their laptops, smart phones and tablets– and that’s part of the problem. Too many passengers accessing wi-fi at the same time slows down connection speeds.

Technology is barely keeping up with the demand for inflight wi-fi, but we’ve seen progress with the newer, faster satellite-based systems on United and JetBlue. Gogo has rolled out its faster ATG-4 air-to-ground system fleetwide on Virgin America, and its showing up on more Delta flights.

But even with those improvements, connections can be slow. Painfully slow. Especially when flying over desolate areas of the Rocky Mountains on a plane full of internet-hungry techies on a flight between New York and San Francisco.

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

Slowly but surely things will get better. And wi-fi in the sky will only become more ubiquitous.  For a look at the current state of inflight wifi, airline booking site RouteHappy.com has produced an interesting report named “The Global State of Inflight Wi-Fi” which ranks inflight wi-fi by carrier.

Here are some interesting snippets:

Routehappy

On which airlines are you MOST likely to find inflight wi-fi? Based on the chart above, it’s Virgin America, Southwest and JetBlue. What’s best about Virgin here is that you know you are going to get inflight wi-fi every single time you get on a plane. No other airline can match that right now.

Routehappy

It’s important to point out that Virgin America is a small carrier with a tiny fleet compared to major airlines. So look above and see how airlines rank based on number of flights with wi-fi, and you see that Delta and Southwest lead…big time.

Routehappy

Availability of inflight wi-fi is huge…but increasingly important is having enough power to stay connected on long flights. Wi-fi is a huge drain on device batteries, so Routehappy took a look at which airlines offer the best access to in-seat power. Virgin America and Alaska lead in this category (see above), which is important because a large percentage of their flights are long-haul where in-seat power is essential. On the other hand, Southwest, which offers mostly short haul flights, offers no in-seat power at all. Lack of in-seat power is a big drawback for JetBlue since many of it’s flights are long haul transcon or NE to Florida flights– but it is working on adding more power.

Routehappy

We are lucky in the US because we were the first to enjoy widespread access to inflight wi-fi while the rest of the frequent flying world looked on with envy. That’s starting to change now as international carriers rapidly adding new satellite based systems for over water flights.

From Delta regarding international wifi progress

Among US carriers, Delta has about 37% of its international fleet outfitted with wi-fi—  primarily on its 747s and A330s but coverage is sparse on its much larger fleet of 777s and 767s. United has wi-fi on all its 747s and about half of its 777s but only a handful of its new 787 Dreamliners. It’s only on two of United’s 767s. On American, only its new 777-300ER and select 777-200 planes are equipped with wi-fi.

Thanks to Routehappy.com for providing this information! Click here for the full infographic.

How do YOU feel about the state of inflight wi-fi? Are you an addict? Happy or frustrated with the service… and the pricing? Please leave your comments below!

–Chris McGinnis

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What are the two best all-around credit cards? Both currently offer 40,000 mile sign up bonuses!

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More United wi-fi + Buh-bye Delta 747s + Virgin’s newest plane + SFO is h-o-t + New Hyatt NYC

United's regional jets to get connected via Gogo (United)

United’s regional jets to get connected via Gogo (United)

This is Part 2 of this weekend’s Catching up on Travel News with TravelSkills. ICYMI here’s Part 1

United regional jets will get Wi-Fi. United said it will expand in-flight Wi-Fi service to more than 200 of its two-cabin United Express aircraft, including Embraer 170s and 175s, and CRJ700s. The service should be available on some planes before year’s end, with the whole job finished by next summer. “Early next year,” a spokesman said, “United expects to expand personal device entertainment to these aircraft, enabling customers to select from a wide range of movies and television shows to view on their Wi-Fi-enabled iOS and Android devices using United’s mobile app, as well as on laptop computers.” Some good news: Gogo’s wi-fi works very well on smaller aircraft where there are not too many passengers hogging bandwidth. While this installation announcement is great news, United still lags behind other major carriers when it comes to consistent inflight wi-fi.

Just in: Lufthansa’s pilots planning another strike this week. 

Delta’s 747s disappearing faster. Like other airlines, Delta is phasing out its 747 fleet– last summer we reported that it was unloading four 747s in the coming year. This week, the carrier announced that it is speeding up that process. Delta’s CEO said the airline’s 747s — used on Pacific routes — should all be gone by 2017. It is acquiring new Airbus A330s to replace the Boeing jumbos. How do you feel about this? Leave your comments below.

Inside San Francisco International's popular Terminal 2 (SFO)

Inside San Francisco International’s popular new Terminal 2 (SFO)

SFO is hot hot hot. The technology boom is playing out at SFO with airlines from around the world clamoring to get in, or expand their service there. Here’s a roundup of all the action:

Foreign carriers boost U.S. service. Subject to government approvals, Ethiopian Airlines plans to launch new 787 service next June between Addis Ababa and Los Angeles three times a week (via Dublin, Ireland, which means you can now fly to Ireland on Ethiopian Airlines) … Effective November 10, Delta’s Skyteam partner KLM will boost its Atlanta-Amsterdam schedule from seven flights a week to 12 … Air France will deploy an Airbus A380 super-jumbo on its Paris-Miami route from December 1 through March 28 … In March 2015, Philippine Airlines will begin new east coast service, flying from Manila to New York JFK via Vancouver four times a week, using a two-class A340-300.

Virgin Atlantic's newest plane, the 787-9, deployed on Boston-Heathrow. (Photo: Jim Ramsay)

Virgin Atlantic’s newest plane, the 787-9, deployed on Boston-Heathrow. (Photo: Jim Ramsay)

Virgin upgrades transatlantic fleet. Delta’s joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic has taken delivery of its first new 787-9 (the “stretch” version of the 787), and will put it into service October 28 between London Heathrow and Boston six times a week. Over the next few months, Virgin will deploy other new 787-9s from Heathrow to Dulles, Newark and JFK. The aircraft have 31 seats in Upper Class, 198 in economy and 35 in Premium Economy; the latter section has a new “Wander Wall” — “a social space where customers can stretch their legs and mingle with other passengers,” the company said.

London Bonus: Did you know that you can earn 7,500 to 35,000 MileagePlus bonus miles for United or Air Canada flights from the US or Canada to London this fall? To get the miles, register online and book between now and December 12 for trips through December 12.

HOTELS

Hilton’s new brand. What exactly is a “lifestyle brand” in the hotel industry? The definition is decidedly vague, but now Hilton is launching one of its own — Canopy Hotels. The company says the properties will provide “simple, guest-directed service, thoughtful local choices, and comfortable spaces, so guests simply feel better going forward.” (Isn’t that what all hotels do?) They’ll start opening in 2015; Hilton has letters of intent for Canopy properties in Portland,. London, Miami, Washington D.C., San Diego, Nashville, Savannah, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Ithaca, N.Y.

The aerie atop the new Hyatt Herald Square in NYC (Photo: Hyatt)

The aerie atop the new Hyatt Herald Square in NYC (Photo: Hyatt)

Another new Hyatt in NYC. Just two months after opening its posh Park Hyatt on West 57th Street, Hyatt has cut the ribbon on another new Manhattan property. The 122-room Hyatt Herald Square New York is on West 31st Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway– a still somewhat gritty area that is now packed with new, primarily “limited service” hotels. This full service Hyatt has three food and beverage outlets including a rooftop cocktail lounge with views of the Midtown skyline.

NOTE: This is Part 2 of this weekend’s Catching up on Travel News with TravelSkills. ICYMI here’s Part 1

Please join the 80,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

In Case You Missed It…

>The intersection of America’s obsession with food and travel. 

>Virgin America’s cutting-edge ad agency issued a mind-dulling six-hour online video about a fictional “BLAH Airlines” to show how boring its competitors are.

>Frequent travelers are getting some new perks and facilities at SFO.

>AT&T has a new plan for international calling.

>See Virgin America’s new facilities at Dallas Love Field.

>>Take a peek at what you may have missed on TravelSkills.com this week! <<

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Free inflight texting + Another 747 flies away + Lufthansa’s new premium economy + PreCheck not so special

AIRLINES

T-Mobile CMO Mike Sievert addresses the media at the Un-carrier 7.0 event in San Francisco. (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn)

T-Mobile CMO Mike Sievert reveals new Gogo partnership in San Francisco. (Photo: Jed Jacobsohn)

Free inflight texting & voicemail. Starting September 17, T-Mobile customers can get free in-flight texting and voicemail service on all 2,000 U.S. aircraft equipped with Gogo Inflight Internet Wi-Fi. “To access the free messaging and voicemail services, T-Mobile customers will need to have their Wi-Fi Calling-enabled phone in airplane mode and connected to Gogo Wi-Fi.  From there, they simply launch their browser, verify they’re a T-Mobile customer, and follow the instructions,” Gogo told TravelSkills. (Interesting side: Gogo’s stock jumped 10% after this new deal became public last week.) If you don’t already use T-Mobile, does this make you want to switch? Leave your comments below. 

Click to see TVOne news report on Air New Zealand's final 747 flight from SFO

Click to see TVOne news report on Air New Zealand’s final 747 flight from SFO

End of an era at Air New Zealand. The latest airline to mothball its last 747 is Air New Zealand, which has flown the Boeing jumbos for 33 years. Its final 747-400 left San Francisco for Auckland last week, then was taken out of service. The carrier now uses 777s and 787s on transpacific routes. Meanwhile, Air New Zealand will add a third daily roundtrip to its LAX-Auckland route three days a week from April through October 2015.

Southwest boosts on-time record. Has Southwest Airlines figured out how to overcome its recent problems with late flights? The airline’s August performance showed a big improvement in on-time operations, up 10 percentage points from July when it (and JetBlue) were stuck at the very bottom of the the DOT’s on-time performance rankings.

Recent: How to choose the best new carry-on bag

Lufthansa's new premium economy seat on display at the Global Business Travel Association convention in August (Chris McGinnis)

Lufthansa’s new premium economy seat on display at the Global Business Travel Association convention in August (Chris McGinnis)

Lufthansa details premium economy service. Star Alliance member Lufthansa will debut its long-promised premium economy section in a few months, and it has posted a new website with details of what the service will provide to passengers and its planned schedule of deployment on international routes. It will be introduced starting in December on 747-8s from FRA to ORD, LAX and IAD; by late April on A380s to IAH, JFK, MIA and SFO; and in May 2015 on A340-600s to LAX, EWR and SFO.

Airline Wi-Fi searches. If you’re flying on United and you’d like to know in advance whether or not your aircraft is Wi-Fi equipped, you can look it up on this United website.  Passengers on Southwest can do the same thing with the carrier’s online Wi-Fi Finder. United & Southwest have taken the proactive step of notifying passengers on the day before their flight if the plane has wi-fi. (Whether or not the wi-fi is operational is another question ….)

Popular on TravelSkills: Another British Airways A380 for the US

The new soy ginger marinated salmon salad now onboard Virgin America (Photo: Virgin America)

The new soy ginger marinated salmon salad now onboard Virgin America (Photo: Virgin America)

Virgin America enhances front cabin menus. First class flyers on Virgin America will see a slate of new menu options this fall from celebrity chefs like Hiro Sone, Staffan Terje, Chris Beerman and Elizabeth Binder. New entrees include things like a grilled mushroom medley, soy ginger marinated salmon salad, roasted chicken with artichokes, ginger pepper noodles, and Marrakesh chicken salad. NOTE: If you fly Virgin America into San Francisco before Dec 14, bring your boarding pass to the Humphry Slocombe ice cream store in the Ferry Building marketplace for a free scoop! (It’s also served onboard flights departing SFO.)

Texas all-you-can-fly air service plans autumn start. A Texas entrepreneur plans to launch a new small-plane air service this fall with an all-you-can-fly policy for flat-fee memberships, according to the Dallas Business Journal. Called Rise, its eight-passenger Beechcraft King Air 350 turboprops will initially concentrate on the busy Dallas-Houston market with high-frequency service. Memberships will cost $1,650 to $2,650 a month, and Rise will use its own terminal at Love Field. The former CEO of California’s Surf Air — which has a similar business model — is executive chairman of Rise.

Please join the 50,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

AIRPORTS

Mock up of what the new dining terrace at LAX Terminal 2 will look like

Mock up of what the new dining terrace at LAX Terminal 2 will look like

LAX shows plans for T2 overhaul. The Westfield Group, in partnership with Los Angeles World Airports, has created a video showcasing its plans for bringing 20 new retail and dining concessionaires to LAX’s Terminal 2. The revamped T2 will have a dozen dining outlets — twice as many as it has now — and will feature outlets of several local restaurants. The project, now underway, should be finished next year. (Currently, T2 primarily serves international carriers.) Terminal 2 is home to ten domestic and international airlines, including Aeroméxico, Air Canada, Hawaiian Air and Virgin Atlantic. 

Wi-Fi Update: Sites monitor airports, hotels. The folks at Cheapflights.com have compiled a handy guide to Wi-Fi at 25 major U.S. airports, including how to access it, whether it’s free or paid. Meanwhile, hotelwifitest.com — which lets users see the data speeds typically achieved at major hotels — enhanced its service so the results can be viewed directly by users of major hotel booking sites. “After a one-click install, the extension will automatically display the WiFi information block whenever you open a hotel page on Hotels.com, Expedia, Booking.com, or TripAdvisor,” the company told us.

SECURITY

TSA: Most travelers now use expedited lanes. Remember the early days of TSA’s PreCheck program when you were whisked through expedited screening while everyone else lingered in long lines? Those days are gone: TSA now sends more than half of all travelers through the expedited checks — not just PreCheck members, but various categories of low-risk flyers and persons selected randomly from regular lines. This is reportedly reducing wait times for all passengers — but early adopters of PreCheck certainly don’t feel so special any more.

CARS

Volkswagen's sporty new GTI now in the National fleet (Photo: VW)

Volkswagen’s sporty new GTI now in the National fleet (Photo: VW)

New cars at National. Members of National’s Emerald Club will have access starting this fall to new 2015 models in the company’s Emerald Aisle locations nationwide, including the Volkswagen GTI, Chrysler 200, Dodge Challenger, Jeep Cherokee, Mazda6, Mustang and Lincoln MKC. Some locations will also offer new Mazda MX-5 Miatas and Hyundai Velosters.

HOTELS

Marriott innovation: Healthy food from a machine. Hotel vending machines typically dispense candy bars and high-sodium snacks. But the Chicago Marriott O’Hare is trying out a new option: Fresh, healthy food from a vending machine. Priced from $3 to $12, options include things like the Detox Salad (kale, quinoa, fruits and beans); low-fat Greek yogurt with berries; and chicken breast from antibiotic-free, humanely raised birds.

In Case You Missed It…

Chris evaluates Virgin America’s LAX Loft lounge.

British Airways is bringing its A380 to San Francisco.

You can pile up bonus points with these fall hotel promotions

Southwest Airlines unveils a new logo and aircraft livery

–Jim Glab & Chris McGinnis

Like what you just read? Then say so! Scroll back up to the top and  LIKE the post on Facebook, post it on Linked In and/or tweet it! 

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Check out these popular recent TravelSkills posts:

How to choose the best carry-on bag

A bright spot at LAX’s drab Terminal 3

Another British Airways A380 for the US

British Airways to spruce up its 747s

CLEAR opens security fast lane at SF Giants’ AT&T Park

United’s newest jet + More Delta to UK + New Asian carrier at SFO + Grand plans for ATL & MEX airports

Nail Painting onboard: Illegal or just rude? 

Biz Trip: Copenhagen

Virgin Atlantic adds new ATL, SFO & DTW flights

Should airlines waive change fees?

Lanai: A billionaire’s work in progress

United streams entertainment + ATL short changed by merger? + Secret spaces on new jets + PreCheck milestone

6 end-of-summer travel deals. Act fast

Awesome Knee Defender animation VIDEO

Are you in the market for a new credit card? Looking for a fat points or mileage bonus to sweeten your balance? Then check out our BEST CREDIT CARDS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS and scoop up the deals!

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How to save $$ on pricey inflight wi-fi

This is a screenshot of Gogo pricing on a recent BOS>SFO flight (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This is a screenshot of Gogo pricing on a recent BOS>SFO flight (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

During long summer flights, one of the best ways to tune out the crowded, hot conditions on the plane is focus on something else… like your email or social networking sites.

Thankfully, getting connected via wi-fi in the air is getting easier and faster thanks to advances in technology.

But it’s not getting any cheaper.

With the price for purchasing a day pass with Gogo during a flight now topping $30, here’s some advice on how to save some money.

Gogo is by far the largest inflight wi-fi provider, offering service on more than 2,000 planes including those of Delta, Virgin America, Alaska, United (p.s. flights), American, US Airways and AirTran among others.

The easiest way to save money is to PRE-purchase a Gogo day pass for $16 from the Gogoair.com web site (that rate increased $2 this month from $14). Even if you don’t end up using the pass on the intended flight, it’s good for a year so you can use it later.

The key to saving money with Gogo is to PRE-purchase your pass

The key to saving money with Gogo is to PRE-purchase your pass

Another good way to save is to pre-purchase a smartphone day pass for just $8. It won’t work with your laptop or tablet, but if all you plan to do is monitor email and check in on social sites with your phone, this is an excellent, money-saving option. (Plus, it’s increasingly tough to get the laptop open when flying in coach anyway!)

On shorter flights, or for just a quick check in on longer flights, Gogo offers a 1-hour pass for just $5.

Now, for those technological advancements. Last year Gogo began rolling out a newer, 3x faster service called ATG-4. At first, only a handful of planes had ATG-4 onboard, but rollout is now at a rapid clip.  For example, Virgin America announced this week that all 53 of its A320 aircraft how have the newer, faster service. (You know your plane has ATG-4 when you look at the plane and see two toaster sized white bumps on the  side of the fuselage, as well as a fin-like antenna on the bottom. See video below.) Delta says that about half of it’s wi-fi enabled fleet now has ATG-4 installed.

On recent Virgin flights with ATG-4, I’ve definitely noticed a difference. It’s not perfect, but it’s better.

Did you know that Uber is now offering $30 off your first ride when signing up via links on TravelSkills? Come on! Sign up and ride in style! 

Gogo and other providers like Honeywell and Panasonic are busy working on new satellite-based solutions to balky inflight connections, which is great news. The problem is that the new systems will not be widespread for years. I’ve heard a handful of positive reviews of JetBlue’s new Fly-Fi system (now on 49 planes @$9 per hour but free during beta), but have not had a chance to try it yet. Have you? My experience with United’s satellite-based system has been spotty at best (it’s been “out of service” on nearly every flight for me), but I did receive emails from a TravelSkills reader flying to Australia recently, which is a pretty cool feat when you think about it!

To me, inflight wi-fi is the greatest thing to happen to business travel since the rollout of the jet engine on commercial flights. Even though the technology is far from perfect, I’ve used it enough to know that I’m not going to get the same speed or reliability that I get at home or the office. And there are times I don’t get the service at all, which only serve to remind me how reliant I’ve become on having wi-fi on the plane.

What about you? What’s your experience been with in-flight wi-fi? Have you used systems other than Gogo on airlines such as JetBlue or United or Southwest? Please let us know about your experience.

–Chris McGinnis

(Disclosure: Gogo is a regular sponsor of the #TravelSkills chat on Twitter www.travelskills.com/chat. Virgin America is a sponsor of this blog.)

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Check out these popular recent TravelSkills posts:

Delta waffles on transcon upgrade policy

6 most irritating actions of infrequent flyers

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Trip Report: SAS business class SFO-Copenhagen (PHOTOS)

Is Uber illegal?

Biz Trip: Denver

Minty fresh transcons + AA US Upgrades + Salt Lake fight + United SFO consolidated + Amex/Uber tie up + Tokyo’s newest hotel

Mood lights on at new Virgin America site 

First look: The newest United Club (PHOTOS)

Beer price index helps gauge cost of trips abroad

United’s new copy & paste MileagePlus program

Marriott’s M Club lounge experiment

More transpac + Slim-line seats slammed + More A321s + New SFO club + ATL free wi-fi + New Hilton brand

5 key questions to ask at hotel check in

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United: T3E & UA500 & 49ers-Seahawks Game fares

New art installation "Sky" at SFO's T3E (Photo: SFO)

New art installation “Sky” at SFO’s T3E (Photo: SFO)

WE’RE COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS…until the opening of United’s shiny new Boarding Area E in Terminal 3 (with a shiny new acronym: “T3E”). When TravelSkills took a hard hat tour last month, things were still very much under construction, but we are starting to see and hear about more of the finished product, including some of the unusual art installations. Last week United posted a press release about the new terminal (but still has not revealed which flights will be the first to arrive or depart when it opens on Jan 28.) And then there’s this from the San Mateo Daily Journal:

At the waiting area at the end of the terminal lies the suspended light sculpture ‘Sky’ by Merge Conceptual Design. The artist team Franka Diehnelt and Claudia Reisenberger created the sculpture, which is made up of 27 mirror-polished stainless steel spheres of different sizes. The globes are hollow with circular openings oriented at various angles and their interiors are painted a matte blue. They are also illuminated by LED lights to create a soft interior glow, while a computerized program causes these lights to brighten and dim at intervals creating a changing pattern of light.

GETTING BETTER? Included in United’s press release about T3E was a blurb claiming, “United’s operational performance [at SFO] has improved significantly, with baggage-handling reliability up 25 percent in 2013 versus 2012, and ‘controllable delays’ – those not attributed, for example, to inclement weather – down nearly 50 percent for mainline flights and more than 40 percent for regional flights. Satisfaction among San Francisco customers, as measured from post-travel surveys, has increased six-fold since mid-2012.” Then there’s last weeks damning Bloomberg story about how United is still wracked with computer malfunctions affecting its performance. Do you agree with United’s assessment that things have improved at SFO over the last 18 months? Please leave your comments below. 

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SEE IT BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE. GET FREE GOGO WIFI. Would you like to see the new Boarding Area E before it opens on Tuesday, Jan 28? Then RSVP for the “T3E Community Day” on Saturday, Jan 25. Attendees can crawl all over the modern new terminal, soak up the new (and old) art installations, check out the terminal’s dramatic runway views, and enjoy food and entertainment for the whole family. It’s from 12 noon until 5 pm—admission is free, but you must reserve a ticket ahead of time. (The first three BATs who submit photos of the new terminal get one free Gogo inflight internet pass! We’ll create a slideshow for the blog with your photos. Send here.)

FORTY NINERS VS SEAHAWKS FARES. As of this morning, fares between Bay Area Airports and Seattle are running in the upper $300’s for those headed to the playoff game scheduled for 3:30 pm Sunday Jan 19. Alaska and Virgin seem to have to lower fares of the bunch, coming in at about $390 for trips northbound on Saturday and southbound on Sunday night. United and Delta nonstops are already priced over $500 roundtrip. Are you going? 

Frozen first flight (Photo: SFO)

Frozen first flight (Photo: SFO)

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT (INDY) 500.  Deep beneath the blizzard of news about the Polar Vortex and how it was affecting air travel, United pulled off the inaugural nonstop flight between SFO and Indianapolis on Tues, Jan 7.  As the Airbus A319 readied for departure on time at 1:35 pm, the temperature in Indy hovered at a bitter 4 degrees F and the city was at the tail end of a “level red” emergency, which forbade all driving except for emergencies. Undoubtedly, those flying into SFO from Indy were happy to escape the winter blast and enjoy some of our disturbingly sunny, dry California weather! Clever: The flight number for the IND-SFO leg is UA500 (Think Indy 500 race). The SFO-IND leg is flight UA317– and 317 is the area code for Indianapolis.

— Chris McGinnis

And just in case you missed it, here’s what else you need to know about Bay Area Travel over the last month:

What to do if pulled over by the police [Infographic]

What winter storm?

12 wishes for better Bay Area travel in 2014

*How to earn a quick 40,000 United miles*

Are you a “data traveler?”

Virgin SFO-LaGuardia + AA’s newest jet + Global Entry delays + more

New terminal at SFO: hard hat tour (photos)

16 brand new, must see NYC hotels

Update: United p.s. fleet SFO-JFK

 

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United to allow handhelds below 10k feet

JetBlue passengers celebrate relaxation of inflight electronics rules (JetBlue)

JetBlue passengers celebrate relaxation of inflight electronics rules (JetBlue)

United and American announced today that they have obtained FAA permission for passenger use of electronics on board aircraft below 10,000 feet– the FAA granted permission almost immediately to both JetBlue and Delta last week. Other airlines (including Virgin America and Southwest) will have to wait a few more weeks until they get FAA approval.

A Virgin America spokesperson told TravelSkills: “We’re in the process of applying through the new process and hope to implement the changes as soon as possible, with the goal of having the change live in November — in time for the holidays.”

As you know, this was previously deemed to be a safety threat to the aircraft’s electronics and navigation systems. But following significant review, the FAA has determined that is not the case. In fact, many pilots have been using iPads in place of bulky flight manuals, and Delta recently introduced handheld devices for flight attendants, which tend to remain on during all phases of flight, to handle in-flight sales and customer service issues.

Virgin America customers will have to wait a few more weeks for FAA approval for handheld use below 10K (Photo: Virgin America)

Virgin America customers will have to wait a few more weeks for FAA approval for handheld use below 10K (Photo: Virgin America)

The lifting of this unpopular rule will allow passengers to read books or listen to music while taxiing on the ground or in the first final phases of flight. Devices must be in airplane mode under 10,000 feet meaning there is no transmission of data (cell phone or Internet use).

According to United’s release,  this only applies to handheld devices like phones or tablets… laptops will likely still have to be stowed  for landing– but I’m not sure why a laptop poses any more danger than a tablet. And it’s an increasingly fine line separating tablets from laptops. Time will tell…

Wireless Internet via Gogo will NOT be available below 10,000 feet— A Gogo spokesperson told TravelSkills that “it’s a little of both” when we asked if usage was not possible due to FAA rule, or because the service simply does not work below 10K feet.

Flight attendants are surely pleased with this new rule as it keeps them from having to patrol every single device, but it is still unclear how crew will be checking to see if devices are in airplane mode. During taxi and before takeoff, there is nothing to stop a sneaky passenger from checking their email on a smart phone unless a crewmember was to catch them!

What about you? Have you ever left your phone in transmission mode under 10K feet? Do you think that cell phone transmissions can truly impact navigational equipment? Please leave your comments below… 

—Chris McGinnis 

And just in case you missed it, here’s what else you need to know about Bay Area Travel over the last month:

>New landing procedure at SFO should help w delays! Hallelujah!

>Big, bad United MileagePlus surprise 

>Virgin’s new Safety Dance

>Riding the Red Carpet Route to London! 

>Double Miles on United & Southwest

>$100 hotels in NYC 

>Two posh new lounges coming to SFO 

>Airline cat fight benefitting TravelSkills Readers 

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New rules about using electronics onboard

JetBlue passengers celebrate relaxation of inflight electronics rules (JetBlue)

JetBlue passengers celebrate relaxation of inflight electronics rules (JetBlue)

Delta wasted no time in obtaining FAA permission for passenger use of electronics on board aircraft below 10,000 feet– the FAA granted permission almost immediately to both JetBlue and Delta. Other airlines (including Southwest and AirTran) will have to wait a few more weeks until they get FAA approval.

As you know, this was previously deemed to be a safety threat to the aircraft’s electronics and navigation systems. But following significant review, the FAA has determined that is not the case. In fact, many pilots have been using iPads in place of bulky flight manuals, and Delta recently introduced handheld devices for flight attendants, which tend to remain on during all phases of flight, to handle in-flight sales and customer service issues.

The lifting of this unpopular rule will allow passengers to read books or listen to music while taxiing on the ground or in the first final phases of flight. Devices must be in airplane mode under 10,000 feet meaning there is no transmission of data (cell phone or Internet use). It appears this only applies to handheld devices like phones or tablets… laptops will still have to be stowed (likely in the seatback pocket) for landing since they can become dangerous projectiles.

Wireless Internet via Gogo will NOT be available below 10,000 feet— A Gogo spokesperson told The TICKET that “it’s a little of both” when we asked if usage was not possible due to FAA rule, or because the service simply does not work below 10K feet.

Flight attendants are surely pleased with this new rule as it keeps them from having to patrol every single device, but it is still unclear how crew will be checking to see if devices are in airplane mode. During taxi and before takeoff, there is nothing to stop a sneaky passenger from checking their email on a smart phone unless a crewmember was to catch them!

While the rule lifts the previous ban, airlines must still apply to the FAA for permission showing that their aircraft equipment is suitable for the use of these personal devices below 10,000 feet. According to Delta, all mainline aircraft have completed carrier-defined PED tolerance testing to ensure the safe operation of these electronic devices. Delta Connection aircraft should be certified “by the end of the year.”

RELATED: And for those of you wondering about the satellite-based wireless Internet that was supposed to be rolled out on Delta’s international fleet earlier this year, plans have apparently been stalled due to FAA certification snags.

A Delta spokesperson told The TICKET that plans are still in place to hopefully have some aircraft equipped with the service in the next few months with an expected completion date by 2015 of all international aircraft. Keep your fingers crossed! (Won’t it be nice to have wi-fi on the ATL-LAX B777 on its way to Sydney or Tokyo?)

—Ramsey Qubein & Chris McGinnis

 


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5 ways inflight wi-fi could improve

What a groovy idea for better inflight wi-fi! See below for explanation (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

What a groovy idea for better inflight wi-fi! See below for explanation (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

It’s not here yet, but the promise of faster, more reliable in-flight wi-fi is on the horizon. We’ll have to wait and see how all this pans out, but for now, here’s the news:

This month Gogo announced that it will roll out a new in-flight wi-fi product that will be 20 times faster than its original product, and six times faster than its upgraded ATG 4 system rolled out last year. The hybrid system (called GTO for “Ground to Orbit”) will use its existing ground-based network of antennae as well as a new satellite system.

Here's what's under the radome on the roof of planes with Gogo's new "Ground to Orbit" wifi solution (Chris McGinnis)

Here’s what’s under the radome on the roof of planes with Gogo’s new “Ground to Orbit” wifi solution (Chris McGinnis)

Virgin America will be the first airline to add the new system starting in late 2014. Gogo also powers in-flight wi-fi on Delta, American, US Airways and on United’s p.s. flights between California and JFK.

TIP for using Gogo: Did you know that if purchased during flight, a Gogo all-day pass now costs as much as $26? To get around that, you can by an all-day pass from the Gogo site in advance for just $14.

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JetBlue, which currently does not offer wi-fi, announced that it would start adding a fast new satellite-based system from ViaSat to its flights later this year. All its 180 planes could be wi-fi friendly by 2015.

In addition to internet access, Southwest’s satellite based system from Row 44 is now streaming live TV to passengers’ personal devices, free (for now at least). Row 44 is now on about 450 Southwest jets—about 80% of its fleet. The current cost for wi-fi is $8 per flight. Row 44 also provides wi-fi on Norwegian Air Shuttle, which will begin flying nonstop between Oakland and Oslo and Stockholm next summer.

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United is slowly rolling out a new satellite-only wi-fi system from Panasonic on select domestic and overseas flights. Currently it’s on about 60 A319 and A320 aircraft and 13 747s. Pricing is per segment and varies (from $4 to $20) based on flight length and connection speed. I was eager to give the new system a try on an SFO-SNA flight last week, but after a few system re-sets, flummoxed flight attendants said that it was inoperable on that flight.

Have you tried United’s new wi-fi system yet? Streamed live TV on Southwest? How did that go for you? Please leave your comments about inflight wi-fi below.

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT? Last week I attended the Airline Passenger Experience Expo in Anaheim—a very cool show for airline geeks. It’s a gathering of all the suppliers for everything on the inside of an airplane—from carpet and lights to seats, wi-fi systems and inflight catering. What a sight to behold!

My “aha moment” came when I saw a simple solution to a problem that likely frustrated millions of frequent travelers every day… how to keep your  smart phone or tablet standing up on the airline tray table. A company called Smart Tray International has patented a rather simple solution—carve a grove into the tray tabletop into which the tablet or smart phone can be inserted. Brilliant, simple solution.

And, since we are moving to a BYOD for “Bring Your Own Device” world when it comes to inflight entertainment, the idea’s especially prescient.

Would you use it? Please leave your comments below! 

—Chris McGinnis

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5 ways inflight wi-fi could improve

What a groovy idea for better inflight wi-fi! See below for explanation (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

What a groovy idea for better inflight wi-fi! See below for explanation (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

It’s not here yet, but the promise of faster, more reliable in-flight wi-fi is on the horizon. We’ll have to wait and see how all this pans out, but for now, here’s the news:

This month Gogo announced that it will roll out a new in-flight wi-fi product that will be 20 times faster than its original product, and six times faster than its upgraded ATG 4 system rolled out last year. The hybrid system (called GTO for “Ground to Orbit”) will use its existing ground-based network of antennae as well as a new satellite system.

Here's what's under the radome on the roof of planes with Gogo's new "Ground to Orbit" wifi solution (Chris McGinnis)

Here’s what’s under the radome on the roof of planes with Gogo’s new “Ground to Orbit” wifi solution (Chris McGinnis)

Virgin America will be the first airline to add the new system starting in late 2014. Gogo also powers domestic in-flight wi-fi on AirTran, Delta, American, US Airways and on United’s p.s. flights between California and JFK. Apparently Delta and Gogo are working on a new satellite-based solution for overseas flights, but those plans still seem to be just plans.

TIP for using Gogo: Did you know that if purchased during flight, a Gogo all-day pass now costs as much as $26? To get around that, you can by an all-day pass from the Gogo site in advance for just $14.

In addition to internet access, Southwest’s satellite based system from Row 44 is now streaming live TV to passengers’ personal devices, free (for now at least). Row 44 is now on about 450 Southwest jets—about 80% of its fleet. The current cost for wi-fi is $8 per flight. Row 44 also provides wi-fi on several international carriers.

JetBlue, which currently does not offer wi-fi, announced that it would start adding a fast new satellite-based system from ViaSat to its flights later this year. All its 180 planes could be wi-fi friendly by 2015.

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United is slowly rolling out a new satellite-only wi-fi system from Panasonic on select domestic and overseas flights. Currently it’s on about 60 A319 and A320 aircraft and 13 747s. Pricing is per segment and varies (from $4 to $20) by flight length. I was eager to give the new system a try on a United A319 last week, but after a few system re-sets, flummoxed flight attendants said that it was inoperable on that flight.

How frequently do you log on using Gogo on Delta or AirTran? Have you tried United’s new wi-fi system yet? Streamed live TV on Southwest? How did that go for you? Please leave your comments about inflight wi-fi below.

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT? Last week I attended the Airline Passenger Experience Expo in Anaheim—a very cool show for airline geeks. It’s a gathering of all the suppliers for everything on the inside of an airplane—from carpet and lights to seats, wi-fi systems and inflight catering. What a sight to behold!

My “aha moment” came when I saw a simple solution to a problem that likely frustrated millions of frequent travelers every day… how to keep your tablet or phone standing up on the airline tray table. A company called Smart Tray International has patented a rather simple solution—carve a grove into the tray tabletop into which the tablet or smart phone can be inserted. Brilliant, simple solution.

And, since we are moving to a BYOD (for “Bring Your Own Device”) world when it comes to inflight entertainment, the idea’s especially prescient.

Would you use it? Please leave your comments below! 

—Chris McGinnis

*****

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How to avoid rising inflight wi-fi prices

Taking a ride on the Gogo inflight internet lab last year in Itasca, IL (Chris McGinnis)

Taking a ride on the Gogo inflight internet lab last year in Itasca, IL (Chris McGinnis)

Inflight wi-fi provider Gogo released statistics today showing that San Francisco International has the highest percentage of passengers using its service, followed by New York JFK and then John Wayne/Orange County. LAX is the fourth most-connected. Interestingly, Atlanta did not even place in the top 10. (See infographic below.)

It’s no surprise that airports located in coastal areas with a preponderance of longer transcontinental flights come out near the top of the list. It’s just not worth the hassle or the cost to break out the laptop or tablet on a flight under two hours. That’s why the poorest performers when it comes to wi-fi (such as Pensacola, Savannah or Akron) are small airports that primarily offer only short commuter flights to larger hubs where longer flights await.

In other Gogo news, the price to log-on onboard has jumped lately. Last week when flying between Atlanta and SFO, I noticed that the fee for a day pass purchased onboard had jumped to $26.95. Ouch! That’s a lot when you consider that Gogo competitor Row 44 only charges $8 per day  per device for inflight wifi on Southwest Airlines flights.

When I tweeted about the surprise price increase, Gogo responded with the suggestion that frequent users purchase a $14 all day pass BEFORE they get onboard. That represents a significant savings, and will be something I do before every transcontinental flight in the future. Especially now that it seems that buying wi-fi at the last minute at overly bloated prices is like buying last-minute airline tickets at overly bloated prices.

What’s nice about the $14 day pass is that it’s good for 12 months on any Gogo-connected airline– so if you end up not using on one flight, you can use it later. For those with a heavy month of travel ahead, a monthly pass is available for $49.95. Gogo is also offering a three-pack for just $30 good for flights through the end of August. (Look for the “Summer sun 3-pack” on the Gogo home page.)

The key here is that Gogo obviously is pushing us to buy passes ahead of time instead of onboard. 

Are you a heavy user of inflight wi-fi? Does the availability of it influence your airline decision? How much is too much to pay for the convenience of logging on on the fly? And finally, have you noticed any improvement is speed or connection using Gogo lately?

Please leave your comments below! 

—Chris McGinnis

 

Gogo most connected cities wifi

 

*****

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How to avoid rising inflight wi-fi prices

Taking a ride on Gogo's inflight lab last year (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Taking a ride on Gogo’s inflight lab in Itasca, IL last year (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Inflight wi-fi provider Gogo released statistics today showing that SFO has the highest percentage of passengers using its service, followed by New York JFK and then John Wayne/Orange County. LAX is the fourth most-connected. (See infographic below.)

It’s no surprise that airports located in coastal areas with a preponderance of longer transcontinental flights come out near the top of the list. It’s just not worth the hassle or the cost to break out the laptop or tablet on a flight under two hours. That’s why the poorest performers when it comes to wi-fi (such as Pensacola, Savannah or Akron) are small airports that primarily offer only short commuter flights to larger hubs where longer flights await.

In other Gogo news, the price to log-on onboard has jumped lately. Last week when flying between SFO and Atlanta, I noticed that the fee for a day pass purchased onboard had jumped to $26.95. Ouch! That’s a lot when you consider that Gogo competitor Row 44 only charges $8 per day  per device for inflight wifi on Southwest Airlines flights.

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When I tweeted about the surprise price increase, Gogo responded with the suggestion that frequent users purchase a $14 all day pass BEFORE they get onboard. That represents a significant savings, and will be something I do before every transcontinental flight in the future. Especially now that it seems that buying wi-fi at the last minute at overly bloated prices is like buying last-minute airline tickets at overly bloated prices.

What’s nice about the $14 day pass is that it’s good for 12 months on any Gogo-connected airline– so if you end up not using on one flight, you can use it later. For those with a heavy month of travel ahead, a monthly pass is available for $49.95. Gogo is also offering a three-pack for just $30 good for flights through the end of August. (Look for the “Summer sun 3-pack” on the Gogo home page.)

The key here is that Gogo obviously is pushing us to buy passes ahead of time instead of onboard. 

Are you a heavy user of inflight wi-fi? Does the availability of it influence your airline decision (hello, United!)? How much is too much to pay for the convenience of logging on on the fly? And finally, have you noticed any improvement is speed or connection using Gogo lately?

Please leave your comments below! 

—Chris McGinnis

Gogo most connected cities wifi

 

***

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Mileage Plus ranking + new 787 @ SFO + PreCheck + Airport standoff

In This Issue: New 787 Dreamliner flight at SFO, Mileage Plus ranks highly, Sour Milk, SFO Airport Tiff, Virgin America loss, Tito’s vodka, dream of a new Terminal 1 at SFO. Sorry for the recent lag in updates! Let’s catch up on Bay Area Travel news right now>>>

A Japan Airlines 787 Dreamliner at San Diego Int'l Airport.

A Japan Airlines 787 Dreamliner at San Diego Int’l Airport– soon at SFO!

MORE 787 DREAMLINERS.  Starting September 1, Japan Airlines will fly a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner between SFO and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport, replacing the current B777 service. ANA will re-start Boeing 787 flights between San Jose and Tokyo-Narita on June 1. (Did you see the slideshow from my ANA flight from SJC to Tokyo?) Currently, United has no plans to fly Dreamliners from SFO.

UNITED EASIEST TO REDEEM. Among major legacy carriers, United ranks highest when it comes to redeeming awards online, according to a survey by Ideaworks. The report says that United had award seats available 80% of the time. By comparison, American had award seats available only 49% of the time. Delta and US Airways are the most parsimonious with awards, with seats available only 36% of the time. Only AirTran/Southwest and JetBlue ranked higher than United. Full report here.

VIRGIN AMERICA NARROWS LOSS. Our hometown carrier is still struggling to climb into the black, even as many of its competitors are showing relatively healthy and consistent profits (except United). In the first quarter of this year, Virgin America lost $46 million, which is not good. But it’s better than the loss of $76 million during the same period a year ago. It’s expanding, too, adding new flights between LAX and Las Vegas, and from SFO to Newark and Austin, and between San Jose and LAX. Based on that sorta good news, the carrier is flirting with the idea of an IPO. Would you invest in Virgin America if it manages to go public? Please leave your comments below.

Rendering of proposed Terminal 1 at SFO

Rendering of proposed Terminal 1 at SFO

DREAMING OF A NEW TERMINAL 1. Check out this interesting proposal for a massive re-do of SFO’s Terminal 1. It’s many years away, but it looks super cool. And tatty old T1 could use some help, that’s for sure.

PRECHECK NEWS. Have you noticed that United has started printing your PreCheck status on your boarding pass? Nice to know before you go whether or not you’ll get those glorious three beeps! Another good thing about PreCheck: It’s now available for those traveling on “select international flights.” Has anyone out there been able to use PreCheck internationally yet? SFO officials say that there are no PreCheck lanes at the international terminal yet—so is it smarter to use the PreCheck lanes at T3, and then walk to your international flight?  Please leave your comments below.

INFLIGHT WI-FI POLL. Last winter we visited Gogo headquarters in Itasca, Illinois and took a fun ride on their in-flight lab for a look-see at a new system called ATG-4 that is designed to improve Gogo’s connections and speed. That was six months ago and we are wondering… Have you noticed a difference? PLEASE ANSWER! (The “Vote” button might appear clear, but you must click it to VOTE and see the results)

Have you noticed an improvement with in-flight wi-fi performance?

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FlightCar

FLIGHTCAR UPDATE. By now you’ve likely heard of FlightCar, a new online service that offers air travelers free parking by SFO, plus the opportunity to earn some cash when they rent your car to other passengers arriving at SFO. Sounds like a good “sharing economy” deal, but the airport is not at all happy about these unlicensed interlopers (including other services like pink mustachioed Lyft).  Earlier this year, SFO issued a cease and desist order, forbidding these new companies from operating at the airport. To get around the C&D order, FlightCar hired a licensed black car service to shuttle its customers between the airport and their private parking lot. FlightCar’s Shri Ganeshram told TravelSkills: “We’re operating within the legal bounds of the system using independent licensed liveries to drop off and pick up passengers at the airport.” He says that FlightCar is now renting about 80 cars per week, despite the SFO cease and desist order. So we contacted SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel to find out if FlightCar is operating legally. He said, “As a public agency, we need to ensure a level playing field for all providers of ground transportation, and FlightCar must sign a permit and provide proof of insurance like every other off-airport rental car company.  This is a matter of basic fairness. FlightCar has yet to meet the obligations, including insurance, required for an SFO permit that would certify them for safe and legal operation at the airport. Their method of transportation to/from the offsite location does not change the fact that they are attempting to operate at SFO without a proper permit. It remains an issue of safety and fairness for us.” How do you think this will all shake out? Have you, or would you use FlightCar? Please leave your comments below!

6 MONTHS FREE AND CLEAR. Starting later this month, CLEAR card holders will be able to use their cards for expedited security screening at San Antonio International Airport. And starting this month, Visa Signature is working with CLEAR to bring the uninitiated a free 6-month CLEAR membership — and $60 off the annual rate of $179 when membership automatically renews. Do you have one of the many Visa Signature cards? Then check this out.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Dearest TravelSkills Readers: TravelSkills needs more readers. Can you help us out? Please forward this link to frequent traveling friends, travel agents, travel managers, travel bloggers and tell them why you love TravelSkills and encourage them to sign up! THANKS!

CLOUDY MILK. The campaign to rename San Francisco International after Harvey Milk has come to a vague close with only a promise to name an as-yet unnamed terminal at SFO after him. I’m glad the whole contentious issue is (mostly) behind us. What about you? Please leave your comments below.

New 76-seat Embraer 175 from United

New 76-seat Embraer 175 from United

MORE BARBIE JETS. United will add 30 Embraer 175 regional jets to the United Express fleet starting next year. The 76-seaters will replace the less efficient 50-seat RJs currently in use. United says, “The aircraft will be configured with 12 United First, 16 Economy Plus and 48 United Economy seats. The design of the aircraft will result in more personal space for customers with wider seats and aisles than those on the 50-seat aircraft. The aircraft can accommodate standard carry-on bags, resulting in more convenience for customers.”

BETTER VODKA. Starting in June, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, made in Austin, TX, will replace Absolut vodka on all United flights. Did you know that vodka is the most-served spirit on US flights?

Join Chris McGinnis & JohnnyJet for the #travelskills chat on Friday mornings!

Join Chris McGinnis & JohnnyJet for the #travelskills Twitter chat on Friday mornings!

SEEKING SUMMER TRAVEL DEALS? Join in the #TravelSkills chat with @JohnnyJet and me this Friday at 9 am PDT. Our new chat has been trending in the US on Twitter on nearly every Friday, so stop by and join the fun. And learn something, or uncover a summer travel deal! See www.travelskills.com/chat

MORE MEXICO AT SFO. Aeromexico will add a second daily round trip to Mexico City on July 15. Check out BAT editor Chris McGinnis’ recent Business Trip: Mexico City for BBC!

San Francisco – Mexico City

Flight NumberDepartureArrivalFrequency
AM 066501:00 am07:14 amDaily
AM 0669*01:25 pm07:53 pmDaily

Mexico City – San Francisco

Flight NumberDepartureArrivalFrequency
AM 066408:26 pm11:25 pmDaily
AM 0668*09:30 am12:07 pmDaily

*New flights schedules available starting July 15th, all in local time and subject to change without notice.

SEEKING SASSY WHEELS in Dallas or Austin? High end Silvercar (which rents only silver Audi A4s) is offering four Virgin America Elevate reward points per $1 spent, 2,500 bonus points with your first rental, and another 2,500 points for your fourth rental through November 30. Have you tried Slivercar? What did you think?

—Chris McGinnis

***

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How we use inflight wi-fi [Infographic]

Gogo tower in remote Nevada location

Gogo tower in remote Nevada location

Wired frequent flyers living in Atlanta are lucky– both Delta and AirTran are industry leaders when it comes to having inflight wi-fi available on planes. It’s a rare occasion that an Atlantan jumps on jet at ATL that doesn’t have the service. That’s not the case for the poor souls in other airline hubs where getting inflight wi-fi is a hit or miss proposition.

But the situation is getting better nationally.

For example, Southwest now has wi-fi on 75% of its fleet. United says that it should have 300 wi-fi equipped aircraft by the end of this year. JetBlue is talking about adding a newer, faster version of satellite based wi-fi and offering it for free to all passengers. Delta is adding wi-fi to its international fleet. 

This week Gogo, the major purveyor of inflight wi-fi produced some interesting numbers around how we use their service– see below for an interesting infographic.

RELATED: Gogo to upgrade inflight wi-fi capacity. 

From Gogo:

When it comes to staying connected at 36,000 feet, tablets and smartphones now make up a whopping 67% of the devices being used to connect to Gogo. Tablets are the most preferred device at 35%, followed closely by laptops (33%) and smartphones (32%).

Apple devices are still reigning above the clouds, following the tablet trend with the iPad being the device of choice. Among all mobile devices being used to connect through Gogo, 84 percent carry Apple’s iOS operating system while 16 percent carry the Android operating system. If you look only at the smartphones our customers are using, the iPhone makes up 73 percent and all Android devices make up 26 percent, with Blackberry and Windows based devices each making up less than 1 percent of devices being used in air.

So, what are our passengers doing once they connect at 30,000 feet? It’s no surprise that general Web surfing ranked as the number one in air, online activity users want to do. Besides Web surfing, passengers spend their time in flight accessing personal email, engaging in social media, checking sports scores and shopping. Business travelers ranked accessing their work email and finalizing reports as the most frequent activity above the clouds. Passengers also utilize Gogo to explore their final destination’s weather, entertainment options and directions upon their arrival.

13GO_005_2013Infographic_v5 (2)


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How we use inflight wi-fi [Infographic]

Locations of Gogo's ground based antenna beaming wifi to planes (Chris McGinnis)

Locations of Gogo’s ground based antenna beaming wifi to planes (Chris McGinnis)

TravelSkills Readers (BATs) are lucky. Since the area’s technocratic elite demand wi-fi access on planes, most airlines offer the service on flights to/from Bay Area airports. Hometown carrier Virgin America offers it on all flights. Delta, the third largest carrier at SFO offers it on all domestic flights. United and American offer it on all their flights between SFO and New York JFK– but it’s hit or miss on other flights.

Southwest now has wi-fi on 75% of its fleet. United says that it should have 300 wi-fi equipped aircraft by the end of this year. JetBlue is talking about adding a newer, faster version of satellite based wi-fi and offering it for free to all passengers.

This week Gogo, the major purveyor of inflight wi-fi produced some interesting numbers around how we use their service– see below for an interesting infographic.

RELATED: Gogo to upgrade inflight wi-fi capacity. 

From Gogo:

When it comes to staying connected at 36,000 feet, tablets and smartphones now make up a whopping 67% of the devices being used to connect to Gogo. Tablets are the most preferred device at 35%, followed closely by laptops (33%) and smartphones (32%).

Apple devices are still reigning above the clouds, following the tablet trend with the iPad being the device of choice. Among all mobile devices being used to connect through Gogo, 84 percent carry Apple’s iOS operating system while 16 percent carry the Android operating system. If you look only at the smartphones our customers are using, the iPhone makes up 73 percent and all Android devices make up 26 percent, with Blackberry and Windows based devices each making up less than 1 percent of devices being used in air.

So, what are our passengers doing once they connect at 30,000 feet? It’s no surprise that general Web surfing ranked as the number one in air, online activity users want to do. Besides Web surfing, passengers spend their time in flight accessing personal email, engaging in social media, checking sports scores and shopping. Business travelers ranked accessing their work email and finalizing reports as the most frequent activity above the clouds. Passengers also utilize Gogo to explore their final destination’s weather, entertainment options and directions upon their arrival.

13GO_005_2013Infographic_v5 (2)


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Gogo upgrades inflight wi-fi capacity

Gogo HQ in Itasca, IL (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Gogo HQ in Itasca, IL (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Are you gaga for Gogo inflight wi-fi?

To me, Gogo’s introduction of in-flight wi-fi in 2008 was the greatest thing to happen to business travel since the invention of the jet engine. It has so transformed the flying experience that I now choose my airline based on whether or not it offers wi-fi on board—especially if the flight is longer than two hours.

But recently it seems that the more popular in-flight wi-fi gets, the more difficult is to get a good signal, especially on those long transcontinental flights when the service is most valuable. For example, on two out of three recent transcontinental flights, the signal was so weak or inconsistent that I complained to Gogo, which offered me two $18 credits for use on future flights.

Obviously, Gogo does not want to keep handing out freebies like that, so they’ve fattened the pipes to the plane with the introduction of a new higher capacity system called ATG 4, which is rolling out now on Delta, Virgin America and US Airways jets.

Gogo says the next generation system is capable of delivering a peak speed of 9.8 Mbps, which is three times faster than current standard of 3.1 on the first generation ATG. (ATG is short for “Air to ground.) Gogo is able to do this with the addition of three extra antennae (vs. only one before) and another modem plus a software upgrade.

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Earlier this week, Gogo invited me and a few travel and tech writers to its headquarters in Itasca, Il to check out the new ATG 4 system aboard its “jet-propelled internet lab” — a Challenger 600 jet flying out of the Aurora Municipal Airport near Chicago.

Gogo’s inflight internet lab (See slideshow for a look inside)

Onboard the plush 9-seater, the back half of which was full or racks of equipment and cabling, I heard lots of techno babble about latency, megahertz, simulations, Rev A and Rev B, HSPA Mbps, ping tests and page loading. All way over my head.

All I cared about was whether or not I got a good signal—and on this flight I did—good enough to stream a two-minute YouTube video with only a few bumps for buffering, even though Gogo now discourages or even blocks access bandwidth hogging sites like Hulu or Netflix. But there were only nine passengers on board flying over the western suburbs of Chicago.

It remains to be seen what kind of signal I’ll get using ATG 4 the next time I’m flying over Colorado when half the plane is logged on.

Right now, there are only 25 jets that have the new ATG 4 system—out of a total of 1680 jets flying with Gogo onboard.  Gogo is not making a big deal about the upgrade on the plane– the only way you know you are on an upgraded one is by taking a good look at the plane parked at the gate—look for two fins on the underbelly (vs. just one on the bottom before) , and two directional antennae (bicycle helmet sized humps) on either side if the aircraft fuselage.

(Have you scored your 500 Delta SkyMiles bonus for using TICKET sponsor Peachy Airport Parking yet? Click here for the coupon!) 

Currently, installation of ATG 4 is ongoing on Delta, Virgin America and US Airways. Gogo expects to add it to United’s PS fleet and on American Airlines starting next year.

Here are a few extra newsy nuggets I picked up on my visit to Gogo HQ and the test flight:

>There are currently 173 ground-based Gogo transmitters mounted on celluar towers in the continental US and southern Alaska that beam up a signal within a 250 mile radius.

>Gogo is adding and upgrading its transmitters fastest in the Midwest—which is where most complaints about weak signal occur.

>A Gogo system onboard a plane consists of two large toaster-sized black metal boxes mounted in the belly, two or three routers (about the size of the one you may have in your house) that are placed in the ceiling of the aircraft to evenly distribute the wi-fi signal among passengers, and lots of cabling. Total added weight is about 150 lbs.

(Are YOU signed up to get The TICKET via email? Hop to it! Enter your email in the pink form to the right, please!) 

>The new ATG 4 system can handle about 65 passengers logged on simultaneously—the current max is about half that. This means that overload problems are more likely on larger planes flying on longer routes– for example, both of my poor connection experiences occurred on 250-seat Delta 767s.

>Remember when Google sponsored free inflight during the holidays in 2009? So many users logged on that systems crashed and complaints soared. Gogo says that after that, freebie promos have been (and will continue to be) limited to short 15 minute test periods only.

>While overall in-flight wi-fi usage stats sound low (at around 5%), Virgin America says that usage runs as high as 40% on transcontinental flights, especially those nerd birds between San Francisco and New York.

(Have you scored your 500 Delta SkyMiles bonus for using TICKET sponsor Peachy Airport Parking yet? Click here for the coupon!) 

What’s been your experience with in-flight wi-fi? Are you a heavy user like me? Have you experienced connectivity issues? Would you rather spend your time on board reading or gazing out the window? Please leave your comments below.

*****

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Gogo to upgrade inflight wi-fi capacity

 

Are you gaga for Gogo inflight wi-fi?

To me, Gogo’s introduction of in-flight wi-fi in 2008 was the greatest thing to happen to business travel since the invention of the jet engine. It has so transformed the flying experience that I now choose my airline based on whether or not it offers wi-fi on board—especially if the flight is longer than two hours.

But recently it seems that the more popular in-flight wi-fi gets, the more difficult is to get a good signal, especially on those long transcontinental flights when the service is most valuable. For example, on two out of three recent transcontinental flights, the signal was so weak or inconsistent that I complained to Gogo, which offered me two $18 credits for use on future flights.

Obviously, Gogo does not want to keep handing out freebies like that, so they’ve fattened the pipes to the plane with the introduction of a new higher capacity system called ATG 4, which is rolling out now on Delta, Virgin America and US Airways jets.

Gogo says the next generation system is capable of delivering a peak speed of 9.8 Mbps, which is three times faster than current standard of 3.1 on the first generation ATG. (ATG is short for “Air to ground.) Gogo is able to do this with the addition of three extra antennae (vs. only one before) and another modem plus a software upgrade.

Gogo’s inflight internet lab (See slideshow for a look inside)

Earlier this week, Gogo invited me and a few travel and tech writers to its headquarters in Itasca, Il to check out the new ATG 4 system aboard its “jet-propelled internet lab” — a Challenger 600 jet flying out of the Aurora Municipal Airport near Chicago.

Onboard the plush 9-seater, the back half of which was full or racks of equipment and cabling, I heard lots of techno babble about latency, megahertz, simulations, Rev A and Rev B, HSPA Mbps, ping tests and page loading. All way over my head.

All I cared about was whether or not I got a good signal—and on this flight I did—good enough to stream a two-minute YouTube video with only a few bumps for buffering, even though Gogo now discourages or even blocks access bandwidth hogging sites like Hulu or Netflix. But there were only nine passengers on board flying over the western suburbs of Chicago.

It remains to be seen what kind of signal I’ll get using ATG 4 the next time I’m flying over Colorado when half the plane is logged on.

Right now, there are only 25 jets that have the new ATG 4 system—out of a total of 1680 jets flying with Gogo onboard.  Gogo is not making a big deal about the upgrade on the plane– the only way you know you are on an upgraded one is by taking a good look at the plane parked at the gate—look for two fins on the underbelly (vs. just one on the bottom before) , and two directional antennae (bicycle helmet sized humps) on either side if the aircraft fuselage. (See slideshow above for a look at these fins)

Currently, installation of ATG 4 is ongoing on Delta, Virgin America and US Airways. Gogo expects to add it to United’s PS fleet and on American Airlines starting next year.

Here are a few extra newsy nuggets I picked up on my visit to Gogo HQ and the test flight:

>There are currently 173 ground-based Gogo transmitters mounted on celluar towers in the continental US and southern Alaska that beam up a signal within a 250 mile radius.

>Gogo is adding and upgrading its transmitters fastest in the Midwest—which is where most complaints about weak signal occur.

>A Gogo system onboard a plane consists of two large toaster-sized black metal boxes mounted in the belly, two or three routers (about the size of the one you may have in your house) that are placed in the ceiling of the aircraft to evenly distribute the wi-fi signal among passengers, and lots of cabling. Total added weight is about 150 lbs.

>The new ATG 4 system can handle about 65 passengers logged on simultaneously—the current max is about half that. This means that overload problems are more likely on larger planes flying on longer routes– for example, both of my poor connection experiences occurred on 250-seat Delta 767s.

>Remember when Google sponsored free inflight during the holidays in 2009? So many users logged on that systems crashed and complaints soared. Gogo says that after that, freebie promos have been (and will continue to be) limited to short 15 minute test periods only.

>While overall in-flight wi-fi usage stats sound low (at around 5%), Virgin America says that usage runs as high as 40% on transcontinental flights, especially those between San Francisco and New York (natch).

What’s been your experience with in-flight wi-fi? Are you a heavy user like me? Have you experienced connectivity issues? Would you rather spend your time on board reading or gazing out the window? Please leave your comments below.


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Problems w PreCheck, Faster wi-fi, Delta devalues miles, fall season outlook

Delta introduced Economy Comfort on domestic flights this time last year, and by June of this year it was on all two-class aircraft. Does that make you happy…or sad? Please leave your comments about EC below. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

PROBLEMS WITH PRECHECK? We are hearing from an increasing number of travelers frustrated that they are not being chosen for PreCheck, the TSA’s new trusted traveler fast lanes at ATL and elsewhere. While the TSA will not reveal why or why not travelers are chosen, we are now hearing about some patterns… for example, those who are NOT chosen have made their reservation within 24 hours of flight time. Others report that they are never chosen if they are flying on the domestic leg of an international trip. I’ve found that using the Delta mobile app, which displays my boarding pass on my smartphone, nearly always gets me the “three beeps” and into the fast lane. What about you? Are you noticing any other patterns in the TSA’s “random” selection process? Leave your comments below.

BETTER, FASTER INFLIGHT WI-FI. Canadian regulators have given the greelight to Gogo, the popular in-flight wi-fi provider, to get started on extending its ground-based network north of the US border. Service should be available starting in 2013. Also, JetBlue now says that it will (finally) offer a faster new satellite-based inflight wi-fi product—for free—starting in early 2013. JetBlue says that the new service is fast enough to allow streaming of movies in-flight—something you cannot do on the current version of Gogo. Maybe this competition will force Gogo to temper its recent price increases—now running at $18 for transcon flights. Not to be outdone by JetBlue, its largest competitor in the key NYC market, Delta now says that using new technology, it, too will offer the option of streaming movies and TV shows using inflight wi-fi on all 800 of its domestic two-class aircraft “by the end of 2013.”

WI-FI SURPRISE. With Delta and AirTran leading the industry with in-flight wi-fi on nearly every flight, we in Atlanta are pretty spoiled. Such ubiquity is not the case elsewhere, and in fact, only 31% of domestic flights (1,165 aircraft) in the US have it. At Southwest, 35% of planes have it, just 22% of American Airlines planes have it, and at United, the world’s largest carrier, only 1% of its flights have it.  Another big surprise: Usage of inflight wi-fi on the planes that offer it it miniscule—just 5.4% for the first half of 2012. I think that number is quite low due to the fact that most flights are so short that it does not make sense to log on in-flight— but I have witnessed a much higher usage rate on those 3-5 hour transcons out west. As a matter of fact, the availability of wi-fi is THE main factor when I’m chosing an airline for flights longer than three hours. What about you? How important is in-flight wi-fi in your airline decision? Please leave your comments below.

TOUGHER TO TRACK SKYMILES. Customers who keep track of their mileage program balances on sites like AwardWallet.com or TripIt Pro are losing the ability to track their Sky Miles. Delta is cutting off these sites from accessing our frequent flyer program data and frustrating members in the process. According to a cease and desist letter, Delta feels these sites are performing “computer trespass.” What this means is that Delta is making it tougher for its best, most loyal customers to keep track of multiple programs in one place. In addition to Delta, American and Southwest/AirTran do not participate with third party programs designed to make life a little easier for frequent travelers. To us, that’s short-sighted and frustrating. Frequent flyers, not the airline, should be able to choose with whom they share their program data. Do you agree? Have you used these programs to help monitor your miles? Please leave your comments below.

EASY 500+ SKYMILES BONUS. You gotta park at the airport anyway, so why not help out The TICKET, and our newest sponsor, Peachy Airport Parking, on your next trip? You’ll help yourself, too, since Peachy is offering TICKET readers 500 SkyMiles plus three SkyMiles per dollar spent. If you are tired of worrying about on-airport lot sellouts, long, dark walks to your car or the congested mess that is Camp Creek Parkway, just exit I-85 south at Sylvan Road, one mile north of the airport, and follow the signs to Peachy. Once there, you’ll find extra wide spaces in a secure, climate controlled indoor lot, a free car wash and a short two-minute shuttle ride to the airport. Daily rates are just $6.99 outdoor or $8.99 indoor. COME ON! Help keep The TICKET free by clicking on this link or on the ad to the right to learn more about ATL’s newest parking option. Note: You have to click on the link and print the page to get the SkyMiles! 

SEEING DOUBLE AT SOUTHWEST/AIRTRAN. From now through November 15, Southwest Rapid Rewards and AirTran A+ Reward members earn DOUBLE points on all flights. On Southwest, more expensive Business Select fares earn 24 points per dollar– that’s four times more than the standard six per dollar on its cheapest Wanna Get Away fares. Must register here to get the bonus: Southwest | AirTran

TICKET editor Chris McGinnis discusses his outlook for the fall travel season on national news! If you have plans for trips between now and through the holidays, tune in!

SKY CLUB NUMERO 54. The 54th Delta Sky Club (and third at La Guardia) has opened in the lounge that was formerly the US Airways Club in Terminal C. Now part of the expanded Delta operation there, passengers transfer between the two terminals by shuttle bus, but a bridge is already under construction. The club features the same snazzy look of other renewed clubs around the system and has excellent views of Delta’s new gates and terminal operation. (Stay tuned to The TICKET for a slideshow of Delta’s new Sky Club at ATL’s new Terminal F.)

EASIER CHARGING. Tired of being one of the huddled masses gathered around the single electrical outlet near your gate? Delta is adding new charging stations at gate areas in 13 more airports. For example, in Tokyo, four of Delta’s gates were recently updated with power stations that feature six standard U.S. 110 volt outlets and two powered USB ports. Delta also is adding the popular feature at airports in Anchorage, Alaska; Austin, Texas; Denver; Dallas/Ft. Worth; Houston Intercontinental; Kansas City, Mo.; Milwaukee, Wis.; New Orleans; Ontario, Calif.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; and Syracuse, N.Y.

DC-9’S STILL FLYING. With Comair out of the picture, Delta has reinstated mainline jet service (using its fleet of ancient DC-9s inherited from Northwest) between Atlanta and Chattanooga, and Atlanta and Wilmington, NC.

While there is plenty negative news coming out of ATL’s new Terminal F, here’s a bright spot: The Varsity is there! Have you been? I love to sit back and watch non-English speakers try to understand the “whaddya haves!” (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

SHOOTING THE MESSENGER? Atlanta Airport has fired three long-term PR professionals in the wake of the generally negative reception by travelers and the media of ATL’s new terminal F.  Yep, these were they key contacts who helped The TICKET with our extensive coverage of the new terminal. They have all received stellar employee reviews over the years, but were served termination papers effective this month.  We are vexed by the whole thing…. it just smells funny. What do you think? On our Facebook page, W Evans comments: “It is so political there. From what I understand these three were wonderful employees. Guess someone’s relative needed a job!” Leave your comments below.

DID YOU KNOW… Did you know: That the TSA now allows travelers aged 75 and older to pass through airport security screening with jackets and shoes on?

MUSICAL SEATS ON THE AIRBUS. Delta has quietly removed a row of first class from its Airbus A-319 and A-320 planes. When these were in the Northwest fleet, they offered 16 seats, but now the planes offer just 12. It’s important to understand that Delta did this to add Economy Comfort seats in the main cabin. Since many of these planes are used on routes to Latin America or cross-country, the added space in Economy Comfort when an upgrade doesn’t clear is certainly appreciated. What do you think? Is it better to have more first class… or more Economy Comfort? Leave your comments below.

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STEALTHY SKYMILES AWARD CHANGE. Earlier this month, Delta quietly raised the award redemption levels for a few mid- and high-tier mileage awards by 5,000 miles—with no advance warning. These include economy class awards to and from the Caribbean, Mexico, deep South America, and Europe where, for example, the mid-tier redemption increased from 90,000 miles to 95,000 miles. Luckily, travelers willing to pay the exorbitant high-tier mileage for a business class ticket to Southeast Asia can save 20,000 miles since Delta dropped the redemption level on that lone award. Surprisingly, many travelers do redeem their SkyMiles for these mid- and high-tier awards despite being a very poor redemption value. For now, at least, none of the low level awards were affected. Hmm. This does not bode well for the future…as airlines have consolidated and competition is reduced, I’m afraid we’ll see more high-handed and troubling moves on the part of Delta…and all the remaining legacy leviathans. What do you think? Is it time to start dumping those miles before they are devalued out of existence? Please leave your comments below.

B-A-A-A. Did you hear that ATL, like a handful of other airports in the country, is considering using a herd of sheep and goats to help keep plant growth near runways trimmed back? WXIA reports that these goats would be the same ones that have helped clear kudzu and other growth at City of Atlanta parks like Chastain. Apparently the herbivores do a better job than humans, and help avoid the use of harmful herbicides.

Coming soon to The TICKET! Our slideshow of images and our take on Delta’s newest Sky Club at ATL’s Terminal F (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

EASIER ORDERING AT MSP. Flyers used to ordering a meal on the built-in iPads in the New York Delta gate areas can now enjoy the same service when flying through Delta’s Minneapolis/St. Paul hub. The concept has proven quite popular and Delta is now working with restaurant operators to distribute 250 iPads to restaurants in Concourse G: , MinniBar, an upscale “sandwich bar;” Mimosa, a French country restaurant and raw bar; and Shoyu, a Japanese eatery. The iPads will be placed inside the restaurants at each seat so diners can order from a visual menu. While waiting for their meals, customers can use the iPads to surf the Internet, check email, or visit social media sites. Plans call for expanding the program with 4,500 iPads to other Delta hub airports.

HOLA ARGENTINA. Aerolineas Argentinas, Delta’s first full South American partner is now officially a part of SkyTeam. However, the full roster of reciprocal benefits does not begin until the end of 2012. Between now and then, travelers can earn and burn miles on the Argentine carrier and make use of its lounges, but Sky Priority benefits will not be extended until the end of the year at their hubs. From the US, Aerolineas Argentinas flies nonstop from Miami to its hub in Buenos Aires only. Have you ever flown Aerolineas Argentinas? If so, what did you think?

FREE WI-FI AT LAX. On your next visit to LAX, be sure to take advantage of their new, free-of-charge wireless Internet service. The airport is dropping its expensive fees to use its signal and joins numerous other major airports like San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, and Orlando in easing the strain of waiting for a flight. Hello, Atlanta Airport?? Hello?

TICKET readers see a lot of gross things on the plane such as barefeet on the bulkhead. What do you think? Should travelers be allowed to prop their feet (bare or shod) on the bulkhead? Please leave your comments below. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

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Coming soon to a flight near you: video streaming

JetBlue announced this week that it will (finally) offer a new, faster satellite-based inflight wi-fi product starting in early 2013. (Currently, JetBlue does not offer inflight wi-fi at all.)

JetBlue (with flights between SFO and Oakland to destinations such as Long Beach, Austin, Ft Lauderdale, New York, Washington and Boston) says that the new service from Live TV and ViaSat (not Gogo) will be fast enough to allow streaming of movies in-flight.  On its blog, JetBlue is promising that every passenger on the plane will be able to log on and have an “at-home experience” in terms of speed. The carrier offered no firm date for the launch, only promising “early 2013.” In an unusual twist, it says it will offer the service for free until the first 30 planes get it. After that, it will offer a tiered product, with a free basic connection, but charges for more bandwidth.

Not to be outdone by JetBlue, Delta says that it, too will offer the option of streaming movies and TV shows using inflight wi-fi on all 800 of its domestic two-class aircraft “by the end of 2013.” Delta currently provides Gogo wi-fi on its entire domestic fleet.

In related news, Canadian regulators have given the greelight to Gogo to get started on extending its ground-based network north of the US border. Service should be available starting in 2013. 

With SF-based Virgin America offering wi-fi on 100% of its flights, plus Delta, United and American providing it on all SFO>JFK flights, TravelSkills Readers (BATS!) are pretty spoiled. Such ubiquity is not the case elsewhere, and in fact, only 31% of domestic flights (1,165 aircraft) in the US have it. At Southwest, 35% of planes have it; 22% of American Airlines planes have it, and at United, the largest carrier in the world (and at SFO), only 1% of its flights have it, according to Business Travel News.

What is surprising is that usage of inflight wi-fi on the planes that offer it is miniscule—just a scant 5.4% on average for the first half of 2012 according to Gogo. I think that number is low because most flights are so short that it does not make sense to log on in-flight. But anyone who flies across the country frequently has witnessed a much higher usage rate– on some of those SFO-JFK flights sometimes it seems that the whole plane is logged on… and speed suffers as a result.  So all these promises of faster products are heartening.

Whether it is land-based or satellite-based,  the availability of wi-fi is THE deciding factor when I’m chosing an airline for flights longer than three hours. What about you? How important is in-flight wi-fi in your airline decision? Will you fly JetBlue more often if it comes through on its promise of a superfast in-flight wi-fi experience? Do we really need to stream video in-flight? Please leave your comments below.

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What's smarter: To ship or check baggage?

THIS JUST IN: eBay, Gogo Give Passengers 30 Minutes of Free Wi-Fi on Delta thru Jan 2

Now, back to our regular programming….

About this time of year, frequent and infrequent travelers alike are faced with the hassle, uncertainty and expense of checking bags for trips home for the holidays.

Most frequent travelers reading this rarely check bags when on the road for business– and if they do, fees are likely waived due to elite status. But for holiday trips home, bag contents frequently expand to include winter coats, formal wear, gifts and plenty of other extraneous items– especially if kids are involved.

Shipping bags via FEDEX or UPS sounds like a great idea until you look at rates. Shipping luggage is not cheap– or fast. To get rates that meet or beat airline fees, you must ship via ground which can take four or five days to get across the country. And distance makes a big difference when it comes to rates. Plus there’s the time cost of schlepping bags to a FEDEX or UPS facility.

I checked with FEDEX to determine how much it would cost to ship a standard carry on-sized piece of luggage (10″x14″x22″) weighing 35 lbs. from the FEDEX store in Atlanta to New York City, Boulder, Colo. and San Francisco.

Atlanta to New York:

$198 each way – Standard overnight delivery

$106 each way – Two-day delivery

$28 each way — end of second day home delivery

 

Atlanta to Boulder, Colo.:

$213 each way – Standard overnight delivery

$167 each way – Two-day delivery

$35 each way – Three-day (ground) home delivery

 

Atlanta to San Francisco:

$228 each way – Standard overnight delivery

$182 each way – Two-day delivery

$48 each way- End of fourth day (ground) delivery

Keeping in mind most airlines charge $25 for the first checked bag (except Southwest and JetBlue) and $35 for the second, each way, would you pay to ship or just check it with the airline and hope for the best?

___ ___ ___

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Airline Update: More Delta legroom, holiday fare advice, disappearing Biscoffs

 

ECONOMY COMFORT EXPANDS. Good news for sore knees! Following in the footsteps of rival United Airlines (and its Economy Plus seating), Delta is expanding its popular Economy Comfort seating from just international flights to nearly all aircraft fleet wide—including domestic flights. The first three to five rows of the main cabin on all Delta mainline and regional jets (except CRJ-200’s) will soon feature three more inches between rows. Passengers seated in this section will enjoy priority boarding—but there will be no free booze in domestic Economy Comfort. The first domestic 757 with Economy Comfort will enter service this month, and Delta says all aircraft will be equipped with the seating by late 2012. Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Medallions can select these seats at time of reservation free of charge. Silver Medallions may request them 24 hours prior to departure free of charge or reserve them at a 50% discount at time of reservation. All other passengers may purchase these extra legroom seats for a fee of $19-$99 depending on the length of the flight. Note: With Southwest doing away with AirTran’s popular business class seating, Economy Comfort will be a welcome option on those long transcons out to the west coast. What do you think about Economy Comfort?

HOLIDAY FARE SHOPPING? AirTran and Southwest launched another winter fare sale today (must book by Nov 14), but as usual the fine print reveals multiple blackout dates around Thanksgiving or Christmas. That’s not great news for holiday travelers, but if you’ve avoided business trips due to high fares, you’ll find some great deals for flights during the first three weeks of December, and much of January. So get out there and see some clients you’ve been avoiding! Here’s more advice on holiday travel peaks and valleys.

FREE BLURBS ON DELTA/GOGO PORTAL. Gogo wi-fi users will notice a new landing page when they launch their web browser on Delta flights. It includes details for your flight including the remaining flight time. Additional free content will include select news stories, PEOPLE magazine content, destination information and events, and shopping opportunities.

MORE SOUTHWEST CHANGES COMING. Bloomberg reports that Southwest plans to cut back on AirTran flights from ATL to smaller cities and focus on adding more nonstops to larger cities that are more profitable. Southwest’s first flights to/from Atlanta (with no biz class…and no bag fees) begin in February. Stay tuned! Have you decided whether you’ll give Southwest a go when it comes to town? Leave your comments below.

FLAT BEDS AT 30%. Delta updated its progress page last month showing that 30% of its international fleet now has true (vs fake) lie-flat seats, up from 25% in August.


SNACK BASKET CHANGES. First class loyalists have learned to love the famous Delta snack basket on flights without a meal (increasingly common). First class customers now get Walker’s shortbread cookies, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, fun size Snickers, Chewy granola bars, and the traditional peanuts, pretzels, Twix and M&Ms. What is noticeably missing, however, are Delta’s famous Biscoff cookies (oddly still available in coach) and those puffy bags of SunChips. Delta confirmed the case of the disappearing Biscoff from the first class basket during afternoon and evening flights, but said that they are still offered on morning non-meal flights.  Thoughts on the new snack additions (and deletions)? Is Walker’s shortbread a suitable substitute for the beloved Biscoff? Please leave your comments below.

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LAST MINUTE MQMs? Remember when Delta teamed up with certain SkyWish charities last December offering valuable MQM’s to those who gave generously? AID Atlanta hauled in a tidy $745,000 as a result of the promo. Generous SkyMilers were able to avoid those pesky end-of-year mileage runs. Delta built a lot of goodwill. Everybody won! We are now trying to determine if Delta will offer something similar this year for those hoping to snag or maintain Medallion status by the end of the year. So far our Delta sources say there’s nothing in the works, but that could change. Another reason to stay tuned to The TICKET!

DELTA IN THE BLACK. Delta reported its financial figures for the third quarter of 2011 and continues to stay in the black partly due to wise fuel hedging, growth in ancillary fee revenue (ya know, those change fees, baggage fees, etc), and a slight decrease in capacity to adjust to travel demand (that’s why flights are fuller these days). In the end, when Delta succeeds, it can spend more to invest in a better product…right?

DELTA #1 FOR FEES. Delta collected more baggage fees and reservation change fees than any other airline in the second quarter of 2011, according to the DOT. In the second quarter, it brought in $226 in baggage fees and $201 million in reservation change fees. American Airlines ranked #2. Overall, airlines brought in an extra $1.5 billion in fee revenue in the second quarter.

DELTA EXPANDS AT LGA. In case you were wondering what happened to the slot exchange at New York LaGuardia (LGA) and Washington Reagan National (DCA) between Delta and US Airways, well, it’s back on. The Department of Transportation has approved the exchange, allowing Delta the right to the majority of US Airways’ landing and takeoff slots at LGA in exchange for a major chunk of Delta’s slots at DCA. The move will allow both airlines to strengthen their position in the marketplace. Delta plans to use the neighboring US Airways’ terminal at LGA, build a connecting bridge between the two terminals, and add an additional Sky Club in the new terminal. A specific timeline has yet to be announced, but this swap will certainly mean more nonstop destinations for Delta passengers at LaGuardia.

HOW TO TRAVEL LIKE A FLIGHT ATTENDANT. Delta’s new Sky Store (www.deltaskystore.com) offers a selection of travel items including luggage, bag tags, apparel, and electronics. Many of the products come recommended by Delta employees themselves who provided the suggestions and inspiration to include certain items in the store. This new venture is designed to showcase the expertise of Delta’s own employees to help travelers find the best, most durable gear for their own travels. A special introductory offer includes a free Gogo wi-fi pass with your first purchase. NOTE: This is different than the Delta Shop (www.deltashop.com), which sells Delta-branded gear, apparel, and merchandise.

TICKET READERS RAVE: Did you see all the positive comments regarding the TSA’s new Pre-Check trusted traveler lanes at ATL? Who knew the much maligned TSA could provoke that kind of praise from jaded biz travel vets like TICKET readers? The program’s still in beta-testing, but let’s see what happens.

MCGINNIS ON BBC.COM. Have you read TICKET editor Chris McGinnis’s recent business travel columns on BBC.com? Here’s a sampling of his most popular recent posts:

>Business Trip: Atlanta (Lemme know if I got it right!)

>What to check out before you check into a hotel

>Avoid paying for overweight bags

>International travelers: 9 must-learn local phrases

>Good idea: Hire a tour guide on your next business trip

ATL’S TERMINAL F. Have you been watching the construction and wondering what ATL’s newest terminal will look like on the inside? Then see this very cool virtual “fly through” of the new International terminal. Well done. Can’t wait to give it a try when it opens this spring…

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CHEAPO AIR: Air, hotel car rental and package deals galore from CheapOair.com

HOTWIRE: Great hotel deals and $13.95 per day rental cars with low Hotwire Hot-Rates!

 


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Airline News Update

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NEW CHARGES FOR PREMIUM BOOZE AT SKY CLUB. Delta is quietly unveiling new charges for premium brand liquor, wine and specialty cocktails at its Sky Club lounges, while well brands and non-premium beer and wine remain complimentary.  Other airlines charge for premium brands in their airport lounges, but Delta’s offering appears significantly more expensive with drinks such as mojitos and premium, top-shelf or call-brand cocktails fetching between $10 and $35. Prepare for the up-sell from your bartender mixologist! Not all clubs have instituted this program yet, but watch for it coming to a lounge near you soon– expect a formal announcement from Delta within days about this. (UPDATE: A TICKET reader just sent us what he says is a new Sky Club premium liquor menu, which includes $35 for Jose Cuervo 1942 tequila, $24 for Talisker 18 scotch, $18 for Johnny Walker Green, $12 for Bulleit bourbon or Ketel 1 Vodka, $199 for a bottle of Dom Perignon among others.) Have you paid for a cocktail yet at a Sky Club? What do you think about this new policy? Do you mind paying more for a premium brand that may not have been available before?

NEW TRUSTED TRAVELER LANES AT ATL. The AJC reports that the TSA’s beta test of a trusted traveler program called “TSA PreCheck” has begun at ATL. About 2,000 Delta frequent flyers and those with “Global Entry” status on their passports chosen for the program can use a special lane for expedited screening at the South security checkpoint. The lane has a metal detector instead of a full body scanner, and does not require travelers to remove shoes, belts or jackets.  TICKET reader Rupert Barkoff of Atlanta was startled to find the new expedited line open at ATL on Tuesday, and wrote, “If I hadn’t prepared for going through security (i.e., shoes, coat, pockets, etc.) I would have made it through South Security at Hartsfield from entry into the security area through the machine in less than a minute.” What do you think? Is a “trusted traveler” lane the answer to our woes, or is the current special lane for elite members enough for you? Please leave your comments below!

NICE ‘N EASY AIRTRAN A+ DOUBLE POINTS PROMO. Fly to any AirTran destination from September 15 through November 7 and earn double A+ Rewards credit for every flight. With this offer, you’ll earn two A+ credits for each one-way flight, which means you can earn a round reward flight after just 4 legs. Plus, if you book in business class, you will receive three A+ Rewards credits for each leg. You must register to get the bonus. And don’t forget, those A+ Rewards will eventually convert to Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

GOGO EXPERIMENTING WITH PRICING. Gogo has launched a new $1.95 15-minute in-flight wi-fi pass perfect for those who need to make a quick scan of email or check a website on a short flight. Right now, these bite-size passes are available on select flights only and appear on the Gogo home page when logging on during the flight. It’s also offering a $4.95 flight pass available on flights up to 650 miles, which is quite reasonable. On the higher end, Gogo is experimenting with raising rates. On a recent transcontinental flight, your TICKET editor paid $14.95 for wi-fi– $2 more than the standard $12.95 rate he was used to. A Gogo spokesperson told The TICKET:  “We are currently testing some new pricing structures on various routes to better gauge the value of the service on a per route basis.” Question: What’s the most you’d pay for wi-fi on a transcontinental flight? How much is too much? (I’ve always thought that charges for inflight wi-fi were quite reasonable given how much more productive I am on long haul flights. However, price seems to be an object for the general public—only about 7% of all passengers opt for wi-fi.)

SPEAKING OF GOGO. In a recent issue of The TICKET, you read that Delta Connection’s fleet of regional jets would soon begin getting Gogo wi-fi access. The first CRJ-700 of Atlantic Southeast Airlines is now ready to surf the web with 250 more to follow rapidly, and all regional jets with first class (CRJ-700s, CRJ-900s, EMB-170s, EMB-175s) will have wi-fi by early 2012. Have you flown one of these Barbie jets yet with wi-fi? Did it work just as well as mainline or was it faster due to fewer passengers on board? Good luck fitting your laptop on those tiny RJ tray tables, though!

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IS DELTA GETTING INTO BED WITH VIRGIN? Delta and Virgin Australia will launch a transpacific codeshare beginning in November as part of their existing joint venture. V Australia’s flights will move to Delta’s terminal at LAX to boost the number of passenger connection opportunities. This codeshare easily opens up nonstop flights to Brisbane and Melbourne from LAX in addition to Delta’s existing B777 service to Sydney. Earning and redeeming miles on each other’s flights and reciprocal lounge access are other benefits for consumers. And with Richard Branson’s near constant mentions of Virgin Atlantic’s interest in joining a global alliance, will this help SkyTeam bag one of the industry’s hottest names? Only time will tell! (Remember back in the day when you could redeem SkyMiles for Virgin flights to London from JFK?)

MCGINNIS ON BBC.COM. Have you read TICKET editor Chris McGinnis’s recent business travel columns on BBC.com? Here’s a sampling of his most popular recent posts:

>How to book a better hotel room

>Using the train to catch your plane

>Five easy ways to brush up quickly on a new country

>Getting your money’s worth in business class

 

EASIER ROUND-THE-WORLD SKYMILES TIX. If you’ve racked up enough SkyMiles to take a trip around the Earth (and that would be 180,000 miles in economy and 280,000 miles in business class), it just got a lot easier to plan. In the past, travelers were forced to endure long phone calls with agents crafting together these complex itineraries with rules (like no geographical backtracking). Now, SkyTeam has launched a user-friendly tool on its website that allows travelers to piece together their own round-the-world itineraries themselves before calling Delta to book them. The awards cannot be booked online and must be booked through a special service desk, but this new online tool eases the experience considerably. Here’s the link. Bon voyage!

LATIN/CARIBBEAN SKYMILES BONUS. If you have flight plans between Atlanta, JFK, or Boston and several destinations in Latin America or the Caribbean this fall, there are some bonus miles in your future. Register for this Sept. 15-Nov. 15 promotion at  and fly one of the promotional routes to qualify for double SkyMiles. Destinations include Santo Domingo, Bermuda, San Juan, Buenos Aires and Rio.

DELTA HUBS TOPS IN ON TIME PERFORMANCE. FlightStats ranked airports based on on-time departures during September, and Delta’s hubs performed quite well. Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma, Portland, OR, and Minneapolis/St. Paul airports all exceeded 90% on-time departures. The average on-time departure performance for the group in September was 78% up over 6 percentage points from August’s 72%. On the downside, New York La Guardia and JFK ranked near the bottom.

  1. SLC Salt Lake City – 92.01%
  2. SEA Seattle – 90.84%
  3. PDX Portland – 90.79%
  4. MSP Minneapolis – 90.17%
  5. MEM Memphis – 86.66%
  6. OAK Oakland – 86.01%
  7. TPA Tampa – 85.58%
  8. YVR Vancouver – 85.28%
  9. ATL Atlanta – 85.21%
  10. PHX Phoenix – 85.14%

***

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Delta News

Happy end of summer! Hope you all are having a good one…or had a good one.

NO PLANS TO CHANGE DELTA’S NEW 72-HOUR RULE. Our post last week about Delta’s new rule that disallows changes to SkyMiles award tickets within 72 hours of departure was the most read and forwarded post on The TICKET to date in 2011. Folks are ticked off! If you missed it, here’s the post–-be sure and read the comments. Despite the outcry, Delta seems intransigent on this one. The TICKET sent Delta the following message: “Can you tell us if Michelle and the gang have decided to soften the 72 hour rule at all? Are they even discussing it, or is it case closed? We think most TICKET readers, once they get over their frustration, sort of see Delta’s point, but feel that the rule is too harsh, and perhaps it could be softened a bit. Seems like the few bad apples have spoiled something for the rest of Delta’s best, and mostly fair-minded customers. Let us know if you know if anything’s in the works.” Delta’s reply to The TICKET: “Thanks for checking in.  We have no plans to make further changes to the 72 hour rule.” There you have it.

SKYMILES TRANSFER BONUS NICE BUT NOT CHEAP. From TICKET reader Tom in Atlanta: “I decided to be nice and transfer a few miles to a friend of mine since Delta was offering to double the miles I transferred (good thru 30 September).  Boy, was I surprised to find out Delta charges .01 per mile to transfer AND $30 per transfer.  So, according to my math,  I was going to give a friend 50,000 miles that would be doubled to 100,000 (what a nice guy I am). . .and it would cost me $530!!!  Not much of a deal if you ask me!  I’m nice, but not THAT nice.”

NEW AMEX SKYMILES BENNIE. If you’ve lost Medallion status, here’s a bit of good news: If you have the Gold or Platinum Delta Sky Miles American Express card, get ready to head back to the front of the line. Beginning Sept. 1, cardholders will receive priority boarding on all Delta and Delta Connection flights. This means boarding along with SkyPriority passengers including Medallion and SkyTeam Elite-level members. No need to show the card– if it is linked to your SkyMiles account, you and up to eight travel companions booked in the same reservation will automatically be placed in one of the first boarding zones. Once on board, you also get a 20% discount for inflight purchases including food, drinks, and movies. These extra benefits are in addition to the already substantial checked bag fee waiver.

TRIMMING THE FAT. Delta is discontinuing its seasonal routes from Atlanta to Barbados and from Atlanta to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Delta has also said that it’s discontinuing flights to several tiny cities that had been subsidized by the federal goverment’s “Essential Air Service” program. Delta is also right-sizing its hub at Salt Lake City– cutting daily departures from 260 to 224. No route cuts planned, but flight frequencies will be reduced.  AirTran is discontinuing its flights from Atlanta to Atlantic City, N.J. (in January) and Newport News (in March).

We’ve got a BIG QUESTION for you this month, and we hope you can take a moment and share your comments at the bottom of this post: How has the recent stock market roller coaster affected your plans for fall business travel– if at all? Have you decided or have you been asked to cut back on travel spending at all over the last month as a result of the uncertainty? Please leave your answers/comments below.

TOO COZY WITH DELTA? The AJC reports that former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin is joining the board of Delta, nearly two years after pushing for a lease deal between the city and Delta that some criticized as too favorable to the airline. Thoughts?

EASY 1000 SKYMILES. Don’t forget: Using Delta’s new mobile app to check-in earns you bonus miles. First register, then check in using the Delta app to earn 1,000 miles between June 30 and September 7, 2011.

FREE INFLIGHT INTERNET IN AUGUST. Were you able to log on for a little bit of free inflight wi-fi this month? Diet Coke sponsored two promos that seemed to be a hit with TICKET readers….except that so many folks signed on that service slowed to a crawl. Our post about this was very popular this month…check it out and see the comments if you missed it. By the way, you should still be able to get a free 30-minute trial between now and Sunday, August 31.


Video of the week: Bat on a Delta plane.

NEW AMIGO: AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS. The TICKET recently reported that Aerolineas Argentinas had been invited to join the SkyTeam alliance. While it is not a full member yet, Delta has begun codesharing with the Argentinean flag carrier between both Miami and Atlanta and Buenos Aires. Beginning next year, passengers traveling on Aerolineas Argentinas can earn and redeem SkyMiles for their flights. Currently, a reciprocal club access program is already in place for SkyTeam Elite Plus members at the airline’s lounge in B.A. Speaking of amigos, Delta recently bought a 4% interest in Aeromexico…which is already a SkyTeam and codesharing partner.

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SHIP LUGGAGE. EARN SKYMILES. FedEx has a partnership with Delta allowing those who ship packages to earn SkyMiles. Between now and Oct. 15, earn triple miles for each dollar spent. For every fifth shipment, SkyMiles members get a 1,000 mile bonus. Not only does this benefit those who ship packages for work, but travelers tired of paying overweight or oversize bag fees. The price (depending on the weight of your bags) may not be that much more expensive, and you get the added bonus of scoring Sky Miles too. Who wants to schlep bags to the airport when the FedEx delivery truck can escort them from your front door to your destination?

LIVINGSOCIAL WITH DELTA. Delta has partnered with LivingSocial, a web site focused on aggregating destination deals and bargains in tandem with trips booked at Delta.com. The initiative will make it easier to save money once you land by highlighting specific restaurant, hotel, attraction, and business promotions that can save you money and time. The offers appear in the My Trips section of delta.com and align with the dates and times of your trip to zero in on the promotions that would only be of benefit during your travel. Some of the deals hack as much as 50% off a variety of services. Worth a look!

NEW DIGS AT JFK. You may be surprised to learn that Delta is the largest airline in the state of New York serving 11 cities with 439 daily departures. The bulk of its operation now takes place at its creaky JFK hub. However, work is well underway to demolish, reconstruct, and renovate Delta’s facilities at Terminal 4, next door to the old Worldport. Want a sneak peek at what you have to look forward to in 2013 following the completion of this $1.2 billion construction project? Take a look!

BETTER FIRST/BIZ CLASS. Those enjoying the occasional complimentary Medallion upgrades (and those who pay for first class) will soon see a refreshed product in domestic and Latin American first class. Those pesky placemats are being crumpled up and replaced with classier tray linens along with new china, silverware, and service items. Business Elite service between JFK and Los Angeles and San Francisco is also getting classier and tastier with the introduction of menus from Napa Valley chef Michael Chiarello.  Amenity kits on international flights will have a new look and feel plus larger toothpaste, a softer eye mask, and high-quality Greek Korres brand toiletry products.

SKY CLUB PAYMENT PLAN. Considering a Sky Club membership, but don’t want to fork over for an entire year at once? Delta has taken a hint from financial services companies and now allows you to spread out the annual cost into monthly installments of $25.99-$39.99 each (depending on Medallion level). Like many lounge programs, there is a small annual fee (ranges from $25.99-$39.99 also depending on one’s status) in addition to the cost of the monthly payment. It is important to note this is not a true monthly membership since you must commit to one year, but it certainly does lessen the financial burden for cash-strapped travelers.

SPEAKING OF SKY CLUB. We need some comments about the new A-17 Sky Club on Concourse A at ATL! Did you know that this is the busiest Sky Club out there with 55,000 monthly visits? Delta removed the rarely used conference rooms to free up much needed space. Has anyone been yet? Please start a discussion below. What do you like or not like? The new club on Concourse D, down at “wheel level” is supposed to open this month…let us know as soon as you get in there! A new rooftop Sky Club is due to open in the South Satellite at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport—let us know when you check it out!

Repeat from above….We’ve got a BIG QUESTION for you this month, and we hope you can take a moment and share your comments at the bottom of this post: How has the recent stock market roller coaster affected your plans for fall business travel– if at all? Have you decided or have you been asked to cut back on travel spending at all over the last month as a result of the uncertainty? Please leave your answers/comments below.

***

HELP US HELP YOU!  Fwd our URL to friends or share The TICKET via social networking! Tell all your friends to sign up for The TICKET.

Book your trips here:

DELTA: Click here for the latest fare sales and deals at Delta Air Lines

HOTWIRE: Great hotel deals and $13.95 per day rental cars with low Hotwire Hot-Rates!


 

 

 


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Slow go with Diet Coke Gogo wi-fi promo

UPDATE: ROUND TWO: A second promotional freebie is scheduled to run for just six days:  Tuesday, August 16-Sunday August 21. What’s different about this one is that it’s only good for a 30-minute trial (not unlimited use). Once the 30 minutes are up, users will be logged off and asked to pay for the connection at standard rates. The 30-minute trial promo is also sponsored by Diet Coke, but no promo code is needed this time.

Gogo tower in remote Nevada location

There’s been some confusing, conflicting and erroneous information circulating about the free Gogo wi-fi promotion on Delta sponsored by Diet Coke this week, but the TICKET has the scoop:

First, a report from our intrepid airline correspondent Ramsey Qubein who took advantage of the promo on Delta flights this week. His report confirms what we’ve heard from several other TICKET readers:

“Wi-fi is available for free, but log on early as the speed can really slow to a crawl when the whole plane is using it. Typically, it seems to handle about 50 people well, but beyond that, the service slows down. Many flight attendants know about the code [DIETCOKEGOGO], but admit to not announcing it on the PA because it could lead to slower service for everyone.”

We contacted Gogo spokesman Steven Nolan to find out what was going on. First, he told us that the current promotion using the DIETCOKEGOGO code was only intended to run for the first few days of August— NOT the entire month as has been widely reported. He said that the promo was designed to be available only until they reached certain goals in terms of users and impressions (which he would not reveal). When we spoke on Friday morning, he said that those goals had been reached and the promo code would no longer work.

ROUND TWO: Nolan said that a second promotional freebie is scheduled to run for just six days: [UPDATE:] Tuesday, August 16-Sunday August 21. What’s different about this one is that it’s only good for a 30-minute trial (not unlimited use). Once the 30 minutes are up, users will be logged off and asked to pay for the connection at standard rates. The 30-minute trial promo is also sponsored by Diet Coke.

Nolan said that Gogo is confident that its system can handle the increased traffic around such promotions, but if pre-paid monthly users report that their experience is sub-par, Gogo will handle the complaint on a case-by-case basis. He also said that Gogo has not experienced a spike in complaints about slow service this week.

Interested in reading more about in-flight internet availability around the world? Then be sure to check out TICKET editor Chris McGinnis’s BBC.com column from this week: In-flight wi-fi slow to expand outside the US. A great read!

Have you used in-flight wi-fi this week? How did it go for you? Please leave your comments below!

———————————————————————

HELP US HELP YOU!  Fwd our URL to friends or share The TICKET via social networking! Tell all your friends to sign up for The TICKET.

Then, book your trips with our advertising partners.

DELTA: Click here for the latest fare sales and deals at Delta Air Lines

HOTWIRE: Great hotel deals and $13.95 per day rental cars with low Hotwire Hot-Rates!

ENTERPRISE: Free upgrades when renting a car for airport pickup at Enterprise.com

 

 


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