I know, I know. It’s yet another onboard wifi story, right? Lufthansa has started putting internet on its airplanes and expects to have it on its whole long haul flight by the end of 2011. So why is this interesting? A couple of reasons, actually. I do find it really interesting the way that Lufthansa is working to bring air and ground together in a couple of ways, including the introduction of CloudStream. Here’s the default CloudStream playlist.
Now, it’s no surprise that Lufthansa is the first to bring back real broadband internet over the oceans. Lufthansa was really aggressive at doing it when Boeing first launched Connexion back in the day. But then, Connexion shut down and Lufthansa just kept flying around with a bunch of sad, useless antennas. So when Panasonic resurrected a new effort at onboard satellite wifi, Lufthansa jumped at it, especially since it could use some of the hardware it was stuck with from before.
The first flights were up and running with wifi on December 1. Lufthansa is starting with Frankfurt to JFK, Detroit, and Atlanta. Yeah, I know. I wondered about Detroit as well, but it’s just because the A330 is the first airplane to get the service, so those routes get it first. If you’re flying on an A330 before January 31, it’s free so check it out.
But what’s different about this versus, say, the stuff you can get domestically. It uses the same satellite as Row 44 (the one Southwest is installing), but it’s also more robust. For example, Lufthansa will allow people to use GSM/GPRS to use their mobiles to text message and surf the web that way. For me, the most interesting thing about this is how Lufthansa is integrating it with the ground.
The service is being handled by Deutsche Telekom (better known as T-Mobile’s parent, here in the US). So it’s really like it’s just another hotspot. Because of that, you can pay using miles, roaming agreements, or just with a credit card. There are a ton of options.
The pricing seems a little screwy to me, however. You have two options – either one hour of service or 24 hours of service. The one hour option is €10.95 (~$14.50) or 3,500 miles while the 24 hour option is €19.95 (~$26.40) or 7,000 miles.
First of all, let’s all just agree that the mileage option is shockingly dumb. I mean, it’s not dumb for Lufthansa to offer it, but it’s really dumb if you as a passenger choose it. The return on that is right around 0.3 cents per mile. In a world where most people benchmark 2 cents per mile as a good place to start, this is really throwing your miles away. But then there are the two options.
For one hour, $15 seems mighty steep. I guess the idea is to try to upsell you to the higher plan, but maybe this will change after testing. Chances are, if you only want one hour on a long haul flight, you simply want to do an email upload/download to reconnect with the world. So they should do something like 30 minutes for €5 for that purpose and then just go with an all-you-can-eat for 24 hours plan.
That plan, by the way, seems to be priced fairly to me. If you’re on an 8 to 12 hour flight, $25 for internet the entire time is absolutely worthwhile. I know that if I flew on Lufthansa, that’s the plan I’d choose. But the really cool thing is how they connect this with the ground experience.
Since it’s run by Deutsche Telekom, the 24 hour period isn’t just for access on the airplane. You can also access on the ground in the lounge. Not sure if you can use your access at any hotspot run by the company, but if so that makes it even more valuable.
Lufthansa has also put together this thing called CloudStream which it calls a digital carry-on. The idea is that leading up to your trip, you can create a virtual briefcase of stuff you want to read. You know you’ve run into those 10 page articles in the Atlantic that you want to read but never have time. So Lufthansa lets you compile everything you want to read for your flight and then you can just call it up and start sifting through while onboard.
Sure, you could do this on your own by just saving a bunch of links in an email, but Lufthansa has put this together in a slick package that also lets you share with others and get content recommendations. If you’re on a long flight, it’s a great way to pass the time.
I give Lufthansa a lot of credit for really trying to integrate its wifi offering into everyday life. Now if they would only put powerports in coach. But that’s a whole different issue.
11 comments on “Lufthansa Tries to Connect Air and Ground Life with Onboard Wifi”
Dumb? I have about 4000 miles in my M&M account that will eventually expire. As a UA flyer, I only credit to LH what (based on fare class) will give me zero miles on UA or CO, but I know I will never reach a decent and useful amount in my M&M account. So now I may actually have a useful option. Sure, not greatest value, but expired miles are worth zilch :)
Fair enough. If you have miles to burn, this is probably a better use than getting a magazine subscription!
Without powerports in coach, the 24 hour option will only be valuable to people who are planning ahead with extra charged batteries. Perhaps that’s why the USD 15 will be selected by some passengers.
By the time power ports in coach are a common reality, we’ll all be using tablets, smartphones, and MacBook Air-style machines with 12-15 hour lifespans. I’m not convinced the cost of installing power ports is worth it or necessary, in light of the time it will take, and the direction that personal technology is moving.
David Hasselhoff isn’t enough to get me to try it…..LOL
It’s good to hear the 24 hour option lets you use it on the ground. At first I thought why 24 hours if you are not flying that long, but now it makes sense. But you still don’t get your monies worth on that option since you wouldn’t be using it 24 hours straight. To bad you couldn’t pay for a certain amount of hours and keep using the service until the time is used up, even if that takes a couple of weeks to do.
I know Oman Air and a couple of others are using the OnAir/SITA/Airbus solution. Is that Ku band satellite wifi as well or is it not as strong as the Lufthansa one?
JetBlue is going with Ka-Band, which I heard from a satellite expert that is a stronger technology with more capacity (yet slightly more expensive to install).
Hopefully, we see Lufthansa roll this out to the rest of the LH (long haul) fleet soon. Maybe we’ll even see Star Alliance wifi packages (if US and UA could get working soon enough OMG)
They’re all similar in idea, but different. I know, that’s helpful, right?
The OnAir solution uses SwiftBroadband (SBB) today, which is anything but swift. It’s slow and really expensive. The pricing for internet is something absurd, like $30 for 25MB. It’s not really a good solution for true internet access; it’s better for mobile. But the thing about the OnAir system is that it could be set up to work with Ku Brand (Row 44) for internet access. It’s just not what’s out there right now.
Yes, JetBlue is going with Ka Band which should be cheaper and faster. The only question is whether it will actually be ready in time for the roll out in 2012. I’m not so sure.
Lufthansa is rolling this out to the rest of the fleet, I believe.
I can understand JFK but, Detroit? Why not LAX or San Francisco. I know it’s just a matter of time, but I ask again Detroit?
SEAN – Brett said the A330’s are the first aircraft type to get it so that is why Detroit. LAX and SFO uses 747-400 aircraft from FRA and both have A340 from MUC.
Posting from DL 1636. First time with inflight wifi. WOW.
Gotta give it up to Delta and Google Chrome for free wifi!!!
I’m continually frustrated by the extortionate charges for wifi access in UK airports. The combined terminal and inflight package is a great idea and I would think prove to be very popular and I hope it catches on elsewhere.