Southwest to offer wi-fi on all flights by 2010

by Katie Hammel on

To add to its cheap fares, no-extra-fees policy, and wise-cracking flight attendants, Southwest Airlines is giving us one more reason to love the low-cost carrier. Southwest says that, by the first quarter of 2010, wi-fi internet will be available on all flights.

Southwest and Row 44 have been testing the service on four planes since February of 2009. In a press release, Southwest Airlines’ Senior VP of Marketing and Revenue Management says Southwest is “very happy with both the technical performance of the system and the response of the Customers who have used it.”

Southwest is also testing various price points, so there’s no word yet on how much the service will cost.

Plane Answers: Pilot asks, “Is there anyone on board with internet access?”

by Kent Wien on

It just might surprise you to know that when sitting on the ground, waiting out a line of thunderstorms, we don’t have access to depictions of real-time weather updates. We can fire up the radar and look ahead for 40 or so miles, but there’s just no way to know if a re-route offered by ATC is going to keep us out of the weather or create more problems further into our flight.

Cessna 172s have real-time weather capability with a $50 subscription to XM Radio’s WX Satellite Weather, but so far, no domestic U.S. airline has incorporated that technology in their airplanes. We checked out Virgin America’s cockpit a few months back and found that even they don’t have this capability built in yet, though they did at least have GoGo inflight wi-fi which could potentially help.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when passengers aboard a Continental Airlines flight were asked if they had a laptop with internet access while on the ground waiting for weather to pass.

In an apparently savvy move, the captain borrowed Evan Gotlib’s wi-fi card equipped Macbook Tuesday evening to try to come up with a routing out of Newark that would get around ATC flow-control restrictions.

Evan writes on his blog:


There were two or three different lines of storms in the west and south that were affecting all Newark outbound air traffic. There is no mechanism on a 737-500 to look at weather. The radar they have only works in flight, and even then it can’t show what’s happening outside of about 50 miles. We were 50th-yes 50th-in line for takeoff and the captain said that at that point air traffic control really does not care anymore. Their number one priority is international flights, then they get to domestic. So he wanted to see if he could figure out a new route around the storms that he could propose to air traffic control. Neat.

So they used my laptop to go to this site: http://www.intellicast.com. The best part was that neither of them knew how to drive a Mac, let alone Safari, so I surfed for them. It was cool to listen to them talk about different flight plans. This went on for a few minutes and then they got on with air traffic control and someone found a new route. I’m not sure if it was us or air traffic control, but I’d like to think it was us.

I was really hoping for a pair of wings or an honorary junior captain’s badge or something but all I got was an extra cookie from the flight attendant. That was pretty cool.

Oh, one more thing. I’ll never be able to help when the “is there a doctor on board” announcement comes over the PA system. But when the “is there someone with wi-fi who knows how to use the internet on board” announcement is made, I’m there.

Nice job on the captain’s part for thinking outside the box. Of course, a few of us have discovered the power of an iPhone in this situation, but whether it’s a connected laptop or an iPhone, nothing beats the coverage and situational awareness that XM’s service provides. It needs to be built-in and accessible by every pilot, in every airplane that an airline flies to be effective.

I’m hoping airlines will recognize the benefits of connecting cockpits to a reliable weather source. But we could even take it further. Imagine inflight sensors that could transmit more accurate and detailed turbulence levels from aircraft all over the country that could be displayed on our map and updated in real-time. Oh, but I dream.

Until then, if you hear us ask to borrow your wi-fi connected Mac while number 50 in line on the ground, don’t all rush to the cockpit at once.

Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and maybe he’ll use it for the next Plane Answers. Check out his other blog, Cockpit Chronicles and travel along with him at work.

Greyhound taking passengers to the future

by Mike Barish on

When you think of modern travel, you probably don’t spend much time considering buses. However, Greyhound, the largest bus service in the United States, is trying to change that with new buses that may just make ground transportation enjoyable (and modern).

This past April, Greyhound introduced 102 new buses to east coast routes servicing cities such as New York, Montreal, Washington, Boston and Toronto. Equipped with free wi-fi, two AC power outlets at every seat and three-point seatbelts, the new buses are poised to change Greyhound’s image and move bus travel closer to the forefront of people’s minds. In addition to those new features, the buses have fewer seats to allow for more legroom.

According to Greyhound, they launched in the Northeast because it’s their busiest region. Eventually, though, their entire fleet will be replaced by the new buses. And all these upgrades have been made with no adjustment to ticket prices.

Will these enhancements alter people’s perceptions of bus travel? Greyhound is banking on it. Gadling’s own Jamie Rhein already thinks that Greyhound is a worthy option for travelers, so new buses could only sweeten the deal.

I have a few international trips on the horizon, but when the time comes for me to turn my attention back to domestic travel, I would definitely give Greyhound a try. If my long legs and internet addiction are accommodated, I have to consider it worthwhile!

Day in the Cloud goes live at 30,000 feet

by Mike Barish on

Earlier in the month, we told you about Virgin America and Google’s Day in the Cloud Event. And yesterday, I let you know that I would be on board one of the competing flights to take part in the event at 30,000 feet. And that’s exactly where I was this morning as I answered trivia questions, solved puzzles and joined thousands of people on Virgin America flights and on the ground competing to win tons of great prizes. I even tweeted for Gadling during the flight. So, what happens when technology, puzzles and flying intersect? Organized chaos and lots of fun.

I was on flight 921 from LAX to SFO. A competing flight from SFO to LAX was attempting to beat the best score on our flight. But there was one glitch: there were log-in issues when it came time to connect to the gogo in-flight wifi. It seems that there may have been problems with the company that handles the billing for the internet service. So, when a plane-load of people attempted to log into the system simultaneously, a Day in the Cloud became, temporarily, a day at the “still loading” screen.

Eventually, most of the issues were worked out. They even found the bandwidth for Good Day LA to broadcast live on the flight. Reporter Suzanne Marques covered the event and you may even spot me when you watch her segment (Hint: I’m wearing a Gadling t-shirt).

Google created the game and put together a tough contest. I was seated next to professional puzzle designer and competitor Wei-Hwa Huang, who was invited to take the challenge. He seemed to have a much easier time solving the puzzles and finding the answers in Google Apps than I did. His mental gymnastics and fast fingers resulted in the highest score of anyone on the two competing flights, which meant that everyone on Flight 921 walked away with prizes.

What can we learn from the Day in the Cloud? Well, in-flight wifi is here to stay, but, there are still some kinks to work out. For one, gogo sets the pricing for the airlines but they are considering lowering the costs to entice more users. Right now, many people find it too expensive. Also, the 3G network, while reliable, is still glitchy at times, especially if there is a rush of people logging in. However, I was impressed with the overall speed and reliability of the system once things settled down a bit and I’d defiitely utilize the service in the future.

The Day in the Cloud contest is running all day today, so you can still compete at home, in the office or on a Virgin America flight. Remember, though, that when the captain puts on the Fasten Seatbelt sign, that you need to return to your seat, buckle up and put your thinking cap on. My bad jokes, like wifi on Virgin America flights today, are free.

Volkswagen Routan passengers can get online thanks to Autonet Mobile

by Scott Carmichael on

There are many ways you can entertain yourself on a (long) road trip – many vehicles have DVD players, and some even come with connectors for your iPod and iPhone. But Autonet Mobile takes entertainment on the road to the next level.

Today, Autonet Mobile and Volkswagen announced the availability of uconnect web “powered by Autonet Mobile”. This $499 accessory turns the Volkswagen Routan into a WiFi hotspot on wheels.

Monthly subscription plans start at $29.95 (for a 1GB bundle) and the service operates on a nationwide 3G network. The minimum contract period is one year.

So, if listening to the passengers continuously ask “are we there yet?” is proving to be a bit too much for you, why not offer the kids Internet access and let them do their myspacey things while you focus on the road?

Uconnect web is available this month at over 600 Volkswagen dealers.