CHICAGO, Aug 23 (AFP) - The Boeing Company`s Connexion unit has teamed up with iPass Inc. to offer in-flight Wi-Fi access so "road warriors" can go online at 30,000 feet, the companies said Monday in a joint statement.
The deal pairs Boeing`s in-flight broadband wiring with iPass`s roaming WiFi network to give iPass`s 500,000 users high-speed connections during long-haul flights.
A handful of commercial carriers have signed up for the Connexion service, but passengers flying long-distance on those airlines will be able to surf the net at speeds comparable to those they could get on the ground, the partners said.
"Wi-Fi, for business travelers, will rival extra legroom as a `must-have` airline amenity," said John Yunker, an analyst with Byte Level Research, in the statement provided by the two companies.
The service will not be operational for another three to six months: the two companies have allotted that time to technical trials, and there was no word on what the service will cost.
Lufthansa, the German airline, charges 30 dollars per flight or 10 dollars for 30 minutes of in-flight Internet access.
Lufthansa is one of five carriers that have upgraded their long-haul aircraft to offer broadband communications under a deal with Connexion.
The others are Scandinavian Airlines System, Japan Airlines, ANA and Kingdom Holding Co.
In addition, Singapore Airlines, China Airlines and Korean Air have provisionally signed on for the service.
Connexion is a unit of Boeing, the Chicago-based aerospace company.
iPass Inc, based in Redwood Shores, California, operates the world`s largest roaming Wi-Fi network with over 11,000 active hotspots in 33 countries, including 121 airports in 21 countries.