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Boeing Ends In-flight Internet Service

Boeing has unplugged its in-flight Internet service. The broadband service, called Connexion, offered satellite-based wireless Internet access to airline passengers in flight, at a cost of USD 10 for the first hour, or USD 27 for 24 hours.

According to Boeing, on the average flight no more than 40 passengers would pay the USD 9.95 an hour (or USD 26.95 per flight) to get online, and those numbers weren't sufficient to sustain a business.

"We've been looking for ways to connect the cabin, but it has to make sense financially," said Billy Sanez, a spokesman for American Airlines. "It's going to be a bit until we see something feasible." "It's kind of like rewiring your office," said airline consultant Robert Mann. "It creates a lot of downtime and it's very expensive."

While the company did not say how much it was spending on Connexion, the fact that the shutdown was expected to benefit earnings by 15 cents a share starting next year was an indication that the expenses were significant.

Part of the reason for the failure of the service may have been the emergence over the years of cheaper technologies enabling airliners to tap into cellular networks. "I don't think there's anything else on the horizon that will provide global broadband connectivity," said Tim Farrar, president of satellite-communications consultancy Telecom, Media and Finance (TMF) Associates . "I don't see a future for global inflight broadband," Farrar said.

Major U.S. airlines backed off plans to install Connexion after 9/11. Since then, air carriers have had other priorities." I'd love connectivity to be the top issue for the airlines. But it's probably issue number 45 on the list, with fuel, fuel, fuel, fuel as the first ones," said Lars Ringertz, head of marketing for the aeronautical business of leading satellite company Inmarsat.


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