ATW Daily News

Lufthansa to re-launch onboard Internet service on Panasonic platform

Tuesday October 13, 2009

Lufthansa announced yesterday that it will re-launch onboard Internet service next year in conjunction with Panasonic Avionics following a nearly four-year hiatus sparked by Connexion by Boeing's 2006 failure.

Hinted at last week (ATWOnline, Oct. 8), LH and Panasonic yesterday introduced an inflight product that will include allowing passengers to surf the Web, transfer data over standard mobile networks and send SMS text messages using laptop computers, PDAs, iPhones and BlackBerry devices. LH said 50 of its long-haul aircraft will be equipped by mid-2010 and "the service will gradually become available on all Lufthansa long-haul flights worldwide."

Various pricing models will be offered, "ranging from a rate by the hour to a monthly flat rate," LH said. "The exact price for specific products will be announced at a later date."

Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said, "In terms of communications, Lufthansa customers can look forward to a top-tier inflight service. On long-haul routes, we offer business travelers, in particular, a range of communications options on a par with those available at powerful hotspots or upmarket hotels."

LH's service will be called FlyNet, the same moniker used under the Connexion platform, and will be operated via Panasonic's new eXConnect broadband service. Panasonic Avionics CEO Paul Margis said, "Lufthansa's previous experience with passenger connectivity makes them the ideal launch customer for the eXConnect service. Lufthansa was a true pioneer with their FlyNet branded service. We are proud to bring FlyNet back."

LH said it is focusing on high bandwidth "as the main requirement" of its new service with a view toward future applications, "such as telemedicine for the transmission of a patient's vital parameters to a ground station." It noted that passengers with WLAN- or GSM/GPRS-compatible devices will be able to "log on from any point in the aircraft cabin, just like at any public hotspot" and will be billed either through a mobile service provider or credit card.

FlyNet originally was launched in January 2003 and 69 of LH's aircraft eventually were equipped before the service had to be withdrawn.

by Aaron Karp

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