Inflight E-mail Services Attracting Corporate Clients

Siemens AG last month signed a new deal to equip its 200,000 traveling employees with Internet access and e-mail capabilities while flying aboard aircraft furnished with the Connexion by Boeing system. Boeing and Tenzing both are signing corporate customers to their services as more airlines deploy inflight connectivity systems.

Lufthansa German Airlines already has equipped some of its long-haul fleet with the Connexion by Boeing system. Other firm airline customers preparing to move forward include All Nippon, Japan Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines System. China Airlines, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines also announced intentions to install the system.

Boeing said Siemens is "joining the ranks of our existing corporate customers" and that other companies still can secure promotional rates.

Siemens will provide travelers with a code that allows them to access the onboard system, which in turn provides access to the Internet, e-mail and corporate virtual private networks. The codes are being distributed by Siemens AG's corporate mobility services department in Germany, and the company soon will roll out the program via corporate travel departments to other geographic regions. For flights over six hours, travelers with a code will be given unlimited access at a negotiated price discounted off the regular $29 per flight fee. Siemens travelers will use their corporate card to pay for the services, which will be reimbursed through the company's expense reporting system.

"This is a service that will help our employees stay connected despite hours inflight and time changes," said a Siemens spokesperson. "Responding to employees' desire for connectivity, Connexion is a service that will help them integrate work/life balance so they don't feel behind after long trips."

Tenzing also has a corporate program available to North American companies, with plans to soon make it available in Asia and Europe.

The company and Verizon Airfone last year launched e-mail and messaging services onboard Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways. Tenzing also works with several international carriers, including Virgin Atlantic, Iberia and Cathay Pacific, which has installed the system on all its aircraft. The cost for passengers is $10 to view e-mails, with extra charges for sending messages

Another Tenzing airline customer, Emirates, last month began equipping its long-haul planes with Wi-Fi hotspots facilitating wireless Internet connections from passenger laptops. Standard Wi-Fi fees run $20, with extra charges for data transfer beyond four kilobytes.

Tenzing, meanwhile, last month announced a new joint venture with SITA and Airbus that will provide airlines "a full suite of passenger communications services." The services, according to SITA, would allow passengers to use mobile phones, laptops and PDAs to send and receive voice and data messages.

In other inflight passenger communications news, American Airlines and communications developer Qualcomm last month tested a mobile phone system aboard a commercial flight. Though widespread inflight use of personal cell phones likely will take at least two years, the test proved the technology already is available. "Part of the effort was to work with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission to move the ball downfield and get approvals," said Gerard Arpey, president and CEO of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. "The obstacles won't be technical in nature. Cell phones don't interfere with systems on airplanes."