American Airlines to test streaming video

by Chris Owen on

American Airlines will begin testing inflight streaming video that enables customers to wirelessly stream content such as movies and TV shows from an inflight library to their personal Wi-Fi-enabled devices during flight.

“We know our customers want to be connected on the ground and in the sky, so we are working hard to stay on the leading edge of connectivity through technology enhancements like this.” said Rob Friedman, American’s Vice President of Marketing

American will also expand inflight Wi-Fi to its narrow body fleet, completing its Wi-Fi rollout fleet-wide. The Wi-Fi expansion will include 93 of American’s domestic 757s used for routes within the continental United States, and up to 50 additional MD80 aircraft the company said in a statement.”By expanding Wi-Fi to the remainder of American’s domestic fleet and adding movies and TV to the already powerful Internet, American and Aircell continue to transform the inflight experience,” said Ash ElDifrawi, Executive Vice President and CMO of Aircell. “In this new era of inflight entertainment and inflight connectivity convergence, we are proud to be American’s partner in innovation and applaud their leadership.”

The streaming video offering is American’s latest enhancement in a series of investments in mobile technology.

“Mobility is where we are all headed and our focus on new technologies in this space is unmatched by our competitors,” added Friedman.

Do you agree? Is American the best for inflight connectivity? Share your experience with us here.

Flickr photo by boeingdreamscape

Related Stories


Sabre hates competition, alleges US Airways

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Can’t they all just get along?

Not long after American Airlines sued Orbitz, alleging anticompetitive behavior, another airline is suing link in the travel supply chain. US Airways is going after Sabre on antitrust grounds, Reuters reports. The airline believes that Sabre “shuts out competition and drives up prices.”

For US Airways, this is a pretty big deal, as it books 35 percent of its revenue through Sabre. That’s an awful lot of dependence.

Airlines, online travel agencies and global distribution systems have been battling each other since November, when American Airlines announced that it was pulling out of Orbitz. Since then, the number of skirmishes has accumulated to all-out war.

American Airlines and Orbitz tangled in antitrust battle

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The online travel agency battle continues … and it’s getting ugly. The latest move comes from American Airlines, which is suing Orbitz and Travelport for alleged anticompetitive behavior. So, what started in November as a battle over fare distribution has escalated into an antitrust war.

Through the end of the year, Orbitz and American Airlines fought it out, ultimately winding up in court, where American emerged victorious. Along the way, the two sides in this commercial combat – travel suppliers, such as airlines, and online travel agencies – found other fields of battle, with Expedia, Delta, CheapOair and BookIt among those entering the fray.

American is claiming that Orbitz is trying to “control the distribution of airline tickets,” according to a report by legal magazine Corporate Secretary. The article gives some insight into the legal aspects of what’s happening:

‘The lawsuit raises innovative but real questions about market power and behaviors in the current airline structure,’ says Spencer Waller, professor and director of Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies at Chicago-based Loyola University. ‘But I don’t think this lawsuit will get to a resolution on the merits of antitrust claims. I view this case primarily as a continuation of the dispute and negotiations over fees in the online travel agency.’

For American, the disintermediation of online travel agencies would lead to direct ownership of the consumer, as well as wider margins on each transaction. Corporate Secretary continues:

‘The dispute raises real antitrust concerns because firms have substantial market power, and higher fees are being generated that are being passed on to consumers,’ Waller adds. ‘The antitrust law is looking at it from a consumer perspective and in the end, this law would want the airlines to produce lower fees.’

We hit a period of calm earlier this year, but the war in the travel industry is heating up once again. The parties are back in court, only a few months after American’s last victory, and it looks like we’ll all have to wait for the judge.

You can read American’s filing here.

2011 Airline Quality Ratings – AirTran at number one

by Justin Delaney on

The 2011 Airline Quality Ratings (AQR) were just released, and AirTran topped the list at number one. The Atlanta based air line got top marks in the study that accounts for on time arrivals, mishandled baggage, complaints, and other metrics. The study only includes airlines in the United States and provides interesting statistics about the overall quality of domestic air travel.

The main form of complaint involved flight problems, followed by baggage. While overall complaints went up about 30% from 2009 to 2010, overall quality rating also went up marginally. This could be due to the communication channel widening to include new forms of customer feedback. AirTran handled baggage the best with only 1.63 bags mishandled per 1000 passengers. American Eagle was at the other end of the spectrum with 7.15 bags mishandled per 1000 passengers. Of all the airlines listed, Hawaiian Airlines topped the list in on time arrival. Over 92% of their flights landed on time. The full report can be viewed here.

AQR Rankings – Domestic Airlines
16. American Eagle
15. Atlantic Southeast
14. Comair
13. Mesa Air
12. United
11. American Airlines
10. Skywest9. Frontier
8. Continental
7. Delta
6. U.S. Airways
5. Southwest
4. Alaska
3. Jet Blue
2. Hawaiian
1. AirTran

flickr image via Bob B. Brown

Five business travel challenges for small companies to overcome

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Regardless of economic conditions, owning and running a small business isn’t easy. It’s always tough to find clients, allocate your funds effectively and maximize your bang for the buck. And, business travel is a big part of this. When you go out on the road, you know you’re committing some serious cash to the endeavor, and you want to make sure you get as much value out of it as possible.

Part of this has nothing to do with what you’re spending: you want to make sure the reasons for your business trip are smart. But, you also need to keep an eye on the expense side of this to ensure you aren’t spending unnecessarily. Business planning covers the first aspect of this, and travel planning addresses the second.

So, how can white collar travel folks spend more intelligently on business travel? Here are five ideas:

1. Forget brand: are you loyal to a particular airline? Cut those ties. Sure, you’re thinking that accumulating miles can get you free business travel later … and there is some truth to that. However, you could be spending more than the price of a ticket when working toward that benefit. Also, there may be constraints on when you can take free travel.
2. Stay a little loyal, though: even if you aren’t buying on loyalty, you should still enroll in the loyalty programs for every airline, rental car company and hotel you use. It may take longer to accumulate benefits when you spread your purchases around, but the free perks you receive won’t come at the (literal) expense of your travel budget.

3. Shop around a bit: time is money, and the hours you spend looking for a flight are hours you could sink into other business activities. So, look at your effective rate per hour (i.e., how much your time is worth). Let’s say, for example, that an hour of your time is worth $100. If you could spend an hour to save $250 on a flight, that’s a good return – swallow the pill and do some comparison shopping for airfare and room rates.

4. Look at alternatives to airline loyalty: some online travel agencies have loyalty programs. Remember to join them, as you can accumulate benefits with them as well as with the airlines. As with airline choices, though, don’t choose a particular booking site just to accumulate points. Cash comes first!

5. Play the credit card game: use a branded credit card to make your travel arrangements. Choose one for the airline you use most. So, if you have a Delta card and wind up flying American Airlines every now and then to save money, you’ll still accumulate some benefits with Delta. Just don’t forget to pay the card off at the end of the month!

[photo by codepo8 via Flickr]