Lufthansa, with equipment from Panasonic Avionics Corp., relaunched Wednesday its in-flight broadband service, called FlyNet, for passengers on long-haul flights.
The airline said the service, which will initially be provided on selected North Atlantic routes, will be available on nearly the entire Lufthansa intercontinental network by the end of 2011. “In-flight Internet on board our longhaul flights is an innovation in the interests of our customers,” says Thierry Antinori, member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board. “FlyNet complements the consistent communications service offering for Lufthansa customers at all points of the travel chain. It provides them with completely new and unique opportunities to spend their time on board or while waiting for connecting flights.”
Lufthansa previously provided Internet access on its scheduled service from 2003 until the end of 2006, when Lufthansa’s then-partner Connexion by Boeing discontinued the service.
FlyNet uses Panasonic’s Global Communications Suite, which is comprised of three main product offerings – eXConnect, eXPhone, and eXTV. eXConnect provides two-way broadband connectivity to an aircraft; eXPhone, offered in collaboration with AeroMobile’s GSM mobile phone service, allows passengers to use their mobile phones, smart phones and BlackBerry devices onboard to make voice calls if selected by the airline, send SMS text messages or use GPRS services such as email and Internet access; and eXTV television network delivers high-quality, live television to passengers during their flight.