More and more commercial airlines have been putting WiFi-based Internet access on their planes, letting passengers surf the net, email and work while flying at 35,000 feet. Now American Airlines has announced this week that it will be expanding those services by offering streaming video content on two of its planes in a test of such services.
The press release states that American Airlines will install the services on two of its Boeing 767-200 aircraft which will travel on transcontinental flights. The streaming video service is scheduled to begin sometime early this summer and will offer a select number of movies and TV shows that can be streamed to a passenger's laptop or other WiFi-enabled device. The pricing for the service has yet to be revealed. Pending FCC approvals, the streaming video service will be installed on more of American Airlines' planes later this fall.
In addition to the new video service, American Airlines continues to put the WiFi-based Internet service on more of its planes. The planes have three small antennas that are installed outside the plan and connect to Aircell's mobile network on the ground. In this week's press release, it said that it is adding the service to its narrow body planes such as the MD80 and the domestic Boeing 757-200 aircraft. It also continues to add WiFi service to all of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The new additions will be made through the year 2012 and should allow the airline to offer Internet service for all of its aircraft that fly in the continental United States.
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