bmi brings in-flight communication online


British carrier bmi has joined the ranks of airlines offering online connectivity in flight.  They’re fitting one of their planes, set to operate on the London – Moscow route, with a GSM relay system provided by OnAir.  This seems to be the approach that most European carriers are going for in-flight connectivity.

They are limiting it to data/SMS only, which is nice as it means no conversations.  The bad news is that most folks have annoying ring tones set for their SMS notification, so that could be a problem.  It will also allow for GPRS data connections for folks who have their laptops configured to operate that way.

I’m always a fan of more in-flight connectivity, as long as it is silent.  Here’s hoping this one works and can be priced affordably.

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Seth Miller

I'm Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there's no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

One Comment

  1. Time for Bose & Co to add a filter for cellphone ring tones to their noise cancelling headphones.

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