American
Airlines have launched a widget which will allow passengers to identify Wi-Fi
enabled flights.
American
Airlines, the first U.S. airline to launch Gogo Inflight Internet, is launching
its new Wi-Fi Widget that enables customers to identify Wi-Fi equipped flights
24 hours prior to departure.
Customers
can visit aa.com/wifiwidget
to find and use the Wi-Fi Widget. The tool allows travelers to determine if
their American Airlines flight will be scheduled with Wi-Fi enabled aircraft.
Customers can also embed the Wi-Fi Widget in their own blogs, Web sites, and
social network sites, which makes finding Wi-Fi on American Airlines flights
even easier.
"We are pleased to have the Wi-Fi Widget tool available for
our customers," said Doug Backelin, Manager -
Inflight Communications and Technology. "We
realize how important inflight connectivity is to travelers and believe the new
widget will make identifying Wi-Fi equipped aircraft easy."
Simply enter
your flight number or select your flight's departure airport from a drop down
menu to find out in seconds if your flight is scheduled on a Wi-Fi equipped
aircraft. For a quick video demonstration of how to use the Wi-Fi Widget, visit
http://www.youtube.com/americanairlines.
Recently
American completed the installation of Wi-Fi on 150 MD-80 aircraft. Combined
with the 15 Boeing 767-200 aircraft that also have the service, American
Airlines fleet now has 165 planes that are capable of providing customers with
the ability to surf the Web, check e-mail, send instant messages, and more on a
greater number of flights. In August 2008, American became the first U.S.
airline to launch the Gogo service. Since then, thousands of customers
traveling on American aircraft have enjoyed onboard Wi-Fi service while flying
throughout the United States.
Coming soon,
customers will also be able to determine if their flight has Wi-Fi by looking
for the Wi-Fi symbol on the AA electronic gate information display screens at
the airport.
Gogo service
turns an American Airlines flight into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Once the aircraft has
reached 10,000 feet, users can simply turn on their Wi-Fi enabled devices -
such as laptops, smartphones and handheld PDAs - then open their browsers and
be directed to the Gogo portal page where they sign up and begin surfing. Gogo
also provides complimentary access to all that AA.com has to offer, including
booking flights, hotel stays and rentals, checking AAdvantage accounts, and
more.
Once
connected, passengers can surf the Web, check e-mail, send instant messages,
access a corporate VPN, and even start holiday shopping with SkyMall. By
placing an online SkyMall order onboard, customers will receive a $12.95
discount on orders totaling more than $100 - covering the price of the Gogo
session.
Each paid
Gogo session includes full Internet, e-mail and VPN access. Cell phone and
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service use are prohibited.