Gizmodo
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qotd
Would You Pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi?
Runway Girl Mary Kirby has been covering inflight Wi-Fi for quite a while. She notices that while Wi-Fi is going free in cafes, parks, and hotels, the airlines want you to pay. More »
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By Jesus DiazComment by Bantam: i dont think so. Maybe on a flight to san francisco to new york. But then i also need a... 3 Responses | Other threads
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airlines
In-Flight Entertainment Could Go Wireless, But You'll Have to Bring Your Own Screen
Personal in-flight entertainment systems are getting pretty close to ubiquitous, at least on long-haul planes. According to the NYT, in-flight wi-fi will soon be just as common. Now airlines are wondering: why not just combine the two? More »
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By John HerrmanComment by Worf: Well, they throw out their seatback screens and distribution systems (which must be aviation-certified), and leave the entertainment to "bring... 1 Responses | Other threads
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wi-fi
Virgin Gets Wi-Fi On All Flights
AirTran said they were going to be the first to get Wi-Fi on every flight, but Virgin just ninja'ed in and beat them to it. More »
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By Jason ChenComment by SprinklesTDD: Macs on the left, PCs on the right! 8 Responses | Other threads
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in-flight wi-fi
The Weird State of In-Flight Wi-Fi in the US
Airlines don't officially compete on being the most efficient at stripping away your remaining tatters of dignity. No, the new battleground is in-flight Wi-Fi. I'm somehow unsurprised the worst airline in the country is winning. More »
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Comment by Nick: oh, gosh. i am struggling to not make a joke about tech support now flying directly to your home to... 5 Responses | Other threads
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pets
Pet Airways Is the World's First Pet-Only Airline
Pet Airways was designed to cater to, yes, your best friend. With potty breaks and attendants checking on your pet's comfort, they'll travel in the lap of luxury. Sort of. More »
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By Andi WangComment by skiterr: Every time I fly my luggage ends up in Thailand. There is no way I'm leaving my dog out of... 5 Responses | Other threads
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transportation
Japan's Bullet Trains to Get Wi-Fi
Starting this week, Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains will feature wireless LAN from Tokyo to Osaka. More »
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By Mark WilsonComment by Mediocre: Why can't we get bullet trains in the US? 20 Responses | Other threads
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in-flight wi-fi
Southwest Airlines' In-Flight Wi-Fi Free While In Beta
Southwest this week began testing their own in-flight wi-fi service, based on a satellite connection from Row 44. It's on one plane now with more coming soon, and right now, it's free. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by LavaTea: I can't believe no one made a comment on the all of the men in the picture... and they are... 8 Responses | Other threads
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in-flight wi-fi
Delta to Launch In-Flight Wi-Fi In The Next Few Weeks
Previously shooting for the first half of 2009, word is now that Delta's in-flight wi-fi rollout will begin before the end of 2008—i.e. very soon. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by bilups: If it's like everything else delta, they'll charge $15 for the first hour, and $25 each additional hour. 3 Responses | Other threads
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flying
Qantas Now Pretty Sure That Your iPod Didn't Almost Crash Their Plane
Early last week a Qantas Airlines Airbus A330 surprised (and injured) its passengers with an inexplicable 300ft climb, followed by an even larger drop. Initial reports seemed to place blame on interference from personal electronics — something that Qantas had claimed before. After the news made the rounds the situation became muddied, with Qantas claiming that the initial news reporting misrepresented their claims and reporters backing away from the story. In any case, rest easy, Australian in-flight gadgeteers — it wasn't your fault. More » -
gps
Long Overdue GPS Upgrade Could Save Airlines $10 Billion a Year
Technically speaking, you have better navigational capability in your car than the entire airline industry. Why? Because they are still relying on an antiquated WWII era traffic network that often takes aircraft on zigzagging routes towards radar beacons—costing carriers billions of dollars in wasted fuel each year. To make matters worse, the plan to upgrade the system has been stuck in the planning stages for more than a decade thanks to funding issues an the complexity of such a switchover. More » -
flying
Qantas Looking To Blame A330's Sudden Drop in Altitude On Passengers' Gadgets?
Earlier this week, a Qantas A330 inexplicably climbed 300 feet and then suddenly nose-dived back down. In the cabin, 71 people were injured. Interestingly, the ATSB is now looking at in-cabin interference from personal electronics as a possible cause of the "irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system." Wait, what? Really? More » -
censoring the friendly skies
Delta to Block Porn On In-Flight Wi-Fi So Flight Attendants Don't Have To
Where the open internet goes, porn follows; howerver, this golden rule is being re-evaluated for the friendly skies by Delta, who plans to filter web sites used on their implementation of Aircell's Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service. While most of the early adopters of in-flight Wi-Fi have said they will only filter certain types of traffic and not web content itself, relying on flight attendants to handle case-by-case complaints of passengers attempting to join the solo mile high club right from their seat. Which they obviously weren't too happy about. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by purple-pillows: censorship... are we going to get charged for this too? 11 Responses | Other threads
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Don'tcha Know?
Air Canada to Be First International Airline With Aircell In-Flight Wi-Fi
Aircell, the company behind American Airlines and later Delta's in-flight Wi-Fi services, has just signed up Air Canada to be the next airline to offer its passengers the web in the air via Gogo. They'll soon begin fitting their Airbus A319s with the necessary gear, and the service will begin on select flights that cross the border to the south starting in the spring of 2009, guaranteeing no Canuck is without live NHL score updates and news about their bad-ass socialized health care for more than a few minutes at a time. Phew. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by ANoel: Maybe Air Canada could start by deploying Bose Noise-Cancelling headphones. Criterion Collection movies. Decent food. Interesting drink. Cute stewardesses. Ban... 4 Responses | Other threads
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quick tips
How to Make VoIP Calls on Aircell's In-Flight Wi-Fi
The folks at Aircell, providers of the Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service that launched on American last week, have admitted that the ban on video and VoIP chats via Skype and other clients is not bandwidth related, it's for the sanity of everybody else on the plane (much like the in-flight calling ban that's started to float around Congress). Well, after the first few days of the service, Andy over at VoIP Watch has found a backdoor via the Twitter-based VoIP app Phweet that allows for chatting from 35,000 feet. If you must, read on for the details. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by martin0641: Not only is this non-enforceable due to my ability to route my VPN over port 80 if I feel like... more » | Other threads
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in-flight wi-fi
American Airlines In-Flight Wi-Fi Launches Today on Three Routes
If you're flying on an AA 767-200 from NYC to San Francisco, Miami or Los Angeles, you can kick the tires of American's new Gogo/Aircell in-flight Wi-Fi service for $12.95 (the rate for flights over 3 hours). It's the same provider Delta will be using as they roll out the service fleetwide starting soon. Let us know how it is from the air, Giz jet-setters. More »
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By John MahoneyComment by sheyingshi: Yeah, that sound like a real deal. Blazingly slow connection for an exorbitant amount of money, then the twit in... more » | Other threads
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airline security
Prototype Remote-Activated Wrist Stun-Device Shocks You For Airplane Security
This story from the Washington Times seems more ridiculous than ridiculously awesome, but the base of it is that some official in the Department of Homeland Security has "expressed great interest" in a wrist bracelet that can be remotely activated to stun the wearer. It works by taking the place of a boarding pass, which you then wear on your wrist so the flight attendants can know who you are, where you are, and even shock you if you're misbehaving. What makes this thing completely absurd is the diagram after the jump. A man threatens a crew member with a knife. The crew member shocks the man into submission, then SHOCKS EVERYONE ELSE as punishment for sitting passively by while he was being threatened. More »
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By Jason ChenComment by lefonceobscure: They should make you wear this all the time if you want to fly. That way, the next time an... more » | Other threads
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airplanes
June 29 Will Be Like Y2K for Airlines
America has never been a fan of frilly international standards, like the meter or the Kyoto Protocol, but for some reason the airline industry is switching flight plans for all domestic flights over to the international standard on June 29. According to our people's champion brother blog, you might wanna be prepared to at least stand around longer than usual—like Y2K, the switchover could make things screw-y and bork a whole bunch of flights, or it could be totally painless. Make sure your gadgets have a full battery charges, just in case. [FAA via Consumerist]
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Comment by genius74: Since that'll be the Iphone's 1 year anniversary, they should make it easier for Iphone owners to transition. Yes, random comment..... more » | Other threads
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singapore airlines
Singapore Airlines Flights Get iPhone/iPod Docks and 15.4-inch LCDs
Singapore Airlines is installing iPod docks and 15.4-inch widescreen LCDs in their all-Business Class Airbus A340-500 flights between NY/LA and Singapore, ensuring that we're going to be flying with them if we ever have to travel to that part of the world. Each business customer can dock their iPhone or iPod and watch their own movies on the included noise-canceling headphones—which will be interrupting when the captain wants tell you to look off to your left so you can see a drunken Superman mooning your plane. Flights from Newark with this will start May 15 (today), and August for the LA ones. Maybe now business passengers won't engage in business time whilst in the air.
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By Jason ChenComment by Worf: So now Airbus is competing with Boeing on who's the largest iPod accessory manufacturer in the world? more » | Other threads
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airplanes
Delta "Cozy Suite" Seats Make Economy Class Semi-Tolerable
It may not be as fancy as first class accommodations, but Delta's new "Cozy Suite" seats promise to make economy class seating less of a hellish, crippling nightmare. The major feature of the design is a staggered layout that increases privacy while simultaneously creating a space for weary travelers to rest their heads. It also allows passengers to enjoy 31-inches of leg room (2-inches better than the competition) and the ability to recline without disturbing the person behind them. More »
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By Sean FallonComment by LUV2CattleCall: @vertigo: You do realize that on any/all of Delta's aircraft (777, 767, 757) that have a capacity of 200+, when you're... more » | Other threads
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urinals
Urinals Coming to Airplanes, Beware the Golden Shower Turbulence
This is a pic of the urinals at Stockholm's Arlanda airport, courtesy of urinal.net, but if a German design company has its way, pissoirs will soon be a feature of passenger jets. Dassler Interiors has designed one-man urinals designed to stand alongside (sorry) the existing cubicle toilets on planes—let's just hope that they come with doors. More »
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By AddyDugdaleComment by aec007: Hell, it a lot better than having the GeeWhiz Condom Catheter [gizmodo.com] shoved in your willy and plastic bag strapped... more » | Other threads
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showers
Emirates Air In-Flight Showers Cost $18,000 (Plus Enviro Guilt?)
Starting October 1, if you're flying first class from Dubai to New York on an Emirates Air A380, you'll have the option of grabbing a hot shower midflight. It'll cost you $18,000, but some showers are worth it, am I right? "No!" say those party poopers in the environmental lobby. More »
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Comment by capitalass: @GrimaceXL: Yeah, they are different than those other Arabs. Maybe they are like Jews. They like money, right?... more » | Other threads
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mobile air
Emirates the First Airline to Allow Inflight Calls from Passenger Cellphones
Dubai-based airline Emirates has claimed the first ever permitted mobile phone call from a commercial flight. The conversations took place aboard a Casablanca-bound Airbus A340 that had been kitted out with a system that stops cellphones from messing with the plane's electronics. By the end of the year its passengers will be able to clack away on their BlackBerries and use other data services, such as sending texts. Calls on night flights will not be allowed, and the crews will be allowed to prohibit yakking whenever they feel like it. The only stipulation is that cell users, who can only make calls when at cruising height keep their phones switched to silent—thank God—during flights. [BBC Online] -
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Comment by SneakerFiend: How many people are actually going to be willing to pay the 10 dollars??? If the 2MBs is for share then... more » | Other threads
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airplane
Pilot Gets Fired After Extremely Low Flyby in Brand-New Boeing 777
Captain Ian Wilkinson got fired after doing a crazy 322mph flyby at 28 feet over the 9,000-foot runway at Paine Field, a regional airport located next to Boeing's Everett facilities, the manufacturing site of the new 777-300 he was flying to Hong Kong, and the 787 Dreamliner. Reportedly, first he was congratulated upon arrival (as shown in the picture,) but when the video of his stunt hit the web, he was fired: More » -
gadgets
Southwest Airlines Testing Satellite Broadband Internet Access For Your Pleasure
According to their own press release, Southwest is going to be testing in-flight broadband satellite Wi-Fi access so you can check your mail and do all sorts of stuff (though probably not surf porn or talk to someone on Skype). They'll start testing on four planes this summer, with a wider rollout to come whenever they damn well feel like it. [PRNewswire]
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By Jason ChenComment by OtakuboyT: I Just Want You To Know, We're All Counting On You more » | Other threads
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air cells
Air France Makes In-Flight Calling Possible, Gallic Shrugs All Round
Air France is to let passengers loose on their cellphones by turning on its in-flight mobile data and voice system. An initial three-month trial period will only allow SMS and mobile emails, with voice calls expected to come later. Although this is the first European carrier to allow mobile devices to be used, one wonders whether the famously laconic French will be le bothered by the news. More » -
in-flight wi-fi
Update: Jet Blue Wi-Fi Crippled For a Reason
Jet Blue's air-to-ground cellular network (provided by LiveTV on the same spectrum as those in-flight phones no one uses) is still experiencing too many dropped connections between cell nodes to support the bandwidth necessary for full-on surfing, the NY Times is reporting. Hence the Yahoo Mail/IM and Blackberries only restriction, and the lack of cost. American, Virgin America, and Alaska Airlines are expected to join the fray with more robust, pay-per-use services "in the coming months," the latter using a more reliable and international satellite connection for more bandwidth and range. [New York Times] -
jetblue
JetBlue. Free Wi-Fi. December 11th 2007. Kind of.
I can hardly believe my eyes, but the WSJ and Reuters are reporting that JetBlue is offering Wi-Fi on it's flights December 11th, 2007. But wait a minute. The service will be able to "support the entire plane" but don't expect YouTube out yet. The biggest catch is that only Yahoo Mail and IM on lappies, and Wi-Fi enabled RIM phones like th 8820 and 8320 will be capable of using the link. More » -
nojack
New Israeli Anti-Hijack Pilot Verification System Cannot Be Bluffed
Soon, pilots from all airlines flying into Israeli airspace will have to enter a numbered sequence to prove they are not terrorist hijackers. The secret code will be generated by the Security Code System, designed by Elbit Systems complete with a credit-card-sized keypad. Authorized pilots everywhere will eventually be issued keypads, 10,000 in all. For security reasons, the Israeli government won't go into detail about what pilots are supposed to do, exactly. But they did mention what would happen when pilots failed to do it: More »
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Comment by Scuba Steve: What happens if the Pilot is the one who hijacks the plane? more » | Other threads
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no sex please, we're singaporean
Sex Not Allowed in Airbus A380 Double Bed Suites
Even though Singapore Airlines has equipped its new A380 jets with private double bed suites, company officials are saying you'd better not do the bouncy bouncy in there or you'll meet with their stern disapproval. What are they going to do? Throw you off the plane? The first couple to book one of the double suites wasn't too impressed with the airline's prudish demeanor.
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Comment by NapoleonGaloope: No sex in the double bed suites is quite good to keep the room clean as always. www.discoveryhalong.... more » | Other threads
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travel
Lufthansa May Add Beds to Coach; Mile High Club to Add Thousands of Members
Sleeping while flying coach is damned near impossible, especially if you're over six feet tall. Sure, you could drop three times as much (or more) for one of those fancy business class seats that fold into a bed, but only suckers and jerkbags do that. If you're flying to Germany anytime soon, however, you might just get a bed with your coach ticket. More »
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By Adam FrucciComment by aec007: @OldSchoolGadgetLover: On the contrary my friend.... they are coming !!!Finally !!!! [gizmodo.com] See? I'm not crazy after all.... more » | Other threads
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flying
Virgin America's In-Flight Ethernet, USB, 110v Power and Doom
Artur Bergman of Six Apart and O'Reilly got a tour of the new Virgin America planes and found some some amazing geek amenities. Every seat includes 110 volt AC current, ethernet, USB ports for charging iPods and phones, but will also accept a QWERTY for the linux-based, thin client, in flight entertainment system. And, it has Doom. But I'm not sure if it has Internet. More » -
wireless
American Airlines to Test In-Flight Wi-Fi in 2008
Some time in 2008, you may be lucky enough to get on a 767-200 transcontinental American Airlines flight that's testing the AirCell in-flight broadband service. The wireless net access will be available to all classes—yes, even us poor people—for a price. There will be three antennas outside the plane to transmit your 802.11a/b/g "Lolz im on a plane" messages to your buddies. No word on when this will move to widespread deployment. [AA - Thanks Mike]
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By Jason ChenComment by Lucky_Luke: Ain't no big deal really. This feature has been done on other international flight a few years ago, but... more » | Other threads
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high as a kite
EasyJet Shows off its EcoJet with Giant Orange Man
This is the EcoJet, EasyJet's green plane of the future. Either EasyJet's CEO Andrew Harrison has been stealing Giantman's serum, or his new plane saves so much energy because it's made for hamsters. The budget airline is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2015 and reckons this is the aircraft to do it with. In an open letter to airline manufacturers last month, it outlined its wishlist... More » -
orient express of the air
Luxury Stateroom at 35,000 Feet Costs Less Than First Class
Jet Airways has decided to turn its flights from London to Delhi into an airborne Orient Express, giving well-heeled travelers their own private luxury stateroom for the nine-hour flight. The best news is, it's $2393 cheaper than a first-class ticket on British Airways. More »
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Comment by Geisrud: What's all this talk about "joining" the mile high club. I've paid enough dues to have be inducted into the hall... more » | Other threads
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flyclear
Flyclear: Fast-Track Your Way Through Airport Security
If you've had enough of removing much of your clothing in front of Homeland Security officers before stepping onto a flight, then the answer could lie in Flyclear. For $99.95 a year (plus a one-off TSA vetting fee of $28), you get a Clear card, a card with a biometric chip that will fast-track you through airport security. More »
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By Addy DugdaleComment by faceRec: The reason why a clear card is needed for verification is that it's easier for verification with your own templates... more » | Other threads
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wireless
US Airliners to Get Wi-Fi Action by Next Year
Good news for Internet addicts who can't stand being disconnected while traveling 35,000 feet in the air. It looks like US airliners will finally offer Wi-Fi on flights starting next year. The bad news is that the provider (AirCell) is gonna ask you to fork over around $10 before you get online. There might be discounted options for T-Mobile, iPass and Boingo users, but there's no free ride here, folks. More »
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Comment by aec007: Great ! On every aspect!. You will now be able to video conference while on the air. And you could use your... more » | Other threads
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cellphones
FCC Changes Its Mind About In-Flight Calls
Good news, frequent flyers: the FCC has rethought their plans to allow cellphone use on airplanes, freeing us from a future of sitting next to a teenage girl yapping away for an entire transatlantic flight. More » -
gadgets
World's Largest Gadget, Airbus A380, Completes U.S. Maiden Voyage, 747 Pwned
The monstrous double-decker Airbus A380 made its maiden voyage to the United States yesterday, landing at New York's JFK airport, and a few minutes later, another one landed at Los Angeles's LAX. While these were not the first flights of the world's largest passenger airplane—that happened in April of 2005—it is the first time the plane has flown to the United States. More »
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Comment by bbfreak: ctskydiver says: Yeah, like lots of unskilled pilots will get jobs flying that thing. Moron. Flying is the safest... more » | Other threads
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gadgets
Virgin America Airlines Gets Gadget Friendly
Looks like we're going to be flying Virgin next CES—that is, if the Department of Transportation approves their airline application. The new planes from Virgin America theoretically has a whole bunch of cool gadget-friendly features such as a 110V plug, USB port, and RJ-45 (Ethernet) port in every seat. More »
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By Jason ChenComment by njrpeter: Etihad Airways - the UAE's national airline - has all this running already. They've got a spiffy new Airbus that... more » | Other threads
airlines
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