Shortly before 8 a.m. in Chicago Wednesday, Boeing Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Phil Condit received a special e-mail.
This one came from a Lufthansa 747-400 en route from Frankfurt to Washington, D.C., at about 31,000 feet with 344 passengers and a crew of 22.
“Wow,” said the e-mail sent by Scott Carson, president of Boeing’s Connexion broadband Internet service that was making its debut on a commercial jetliner flight.
“We are making history,” Carson wrote Condit, who was in his office at Boeing’s headquarters. “I believe we may have just changed the way people fly.”
More Top Picks Ski Helmet
Minutes later, Carson received Condit’s reply. “Fantastic,” Boeing’s chairman said. “Congratulations to the whole team.”
After three years, Boeing’s Connexion is finally taking wing. As a result of the sharp industry downturn, three major U.S. airlines pulled out of the venture last year, leaving Boeing to count on European and Asian airlines to keep momentum for Connexion.
After the 90-day demonstration, Lufthansa will decide whether to become a full-fledged customer. If it does, Germany’s flagship airline plans to have its entire fleet of about 80 long-haul Boeing and Airbus jets installed with Connexion beginning in 2004.
“It is now possible to make the Internet fly. This makes us proud,” said Wolfgang Mayrhuber, deputy chairman of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, who was on the flight with Carson.
Lufthansa is calling its service FlyNet, and it is offered free during the trial. Later, passengers will pay about $30 per flight to use Connexion’s Internet and e-mail services.
During the trial, only one Lufthansa 747-400 has been wired for Connexion. It will make daily flights between Frankfurt and Washington’s Dulles International Airport.
Next month, British Airways will also begin a three-month trial of the system on one of its 747-400s flying the London-New York route. Unlike Lufthansa, British Airways will charge passengers about $30 per flight even during the trial.
Boeing so far has gotten tentative commitments from only two airlines to use Connexion without a trial run. Japan Airlines plans to have Connexion on 10 of its long-haul jets starting in early 2004.
Scandinavian Airlines has said it will have Connexion on 11 of its long-haul jets beginning in 2004.