Wow. I've read about it, I've dreamt about it, I've wanted to experience it... but never wanted to pay for the flights where it is available. Vis a vis a ridiculous circus in Hamburg this morning, on our way back to the States, Steph and I were rebooked on two Lufthansa flights, instead of American Airlines as had been planned. (A note to anyone trying to travel out of Hamburg using SN Brussels Airlines - formerly Sabina - stay away. I could not believe the level of incompetence shown by the check-in personnel in not rechecking with Brussels as to why our flight showed up as having been canceled in Brussels but not Hamburg.) When the ticketing agent offered us a flight back home with Lufthansa via Munich, I said, done. This was a flight I had been trying to take for some time because of [formerly] Boeings Connexion in-flight Internet service. The flights are long as is and the ability to use some of the time to truly get some work done was exciting to me. Plus, the tech geek inside me was curious how well the satellite service would work. Considering I had been a beta tester of Starband (two-way) satellite based internet service five years ago, I knew of some of the drawbacks of internet service delivered via satellite. The worst of which is latency. For most applications, high latency really isn't much of an issue. Also, when comparing it to even today's fast mobile broadband networks (e.g. UMTS, EVDO, HSDPA, etc.), it is actually quite fast. Data transfers burst and large files will fluctuate in download speed. Mobile broadband networks (of 2006) can be bursty, too, but not in the same high-up and low-down way. I am also fascinated by the multiphase-array satellite technology required to get a service like Connexion to work reliably. Plus, there's quite an interesting business hitch to Connexion:
"On August 17, 2006, the Boeing Company announced that after a detailed analysis of the Connexion by Boeing business, the company has decided to exit the high-speed broadband communications connectivity market. Boeing is now working with its customers to facilitate an orderly phase out of the Connexion by Boeing service. Passengers traveling on Internet-equipped flights will be able to use the service until it is phased out which will occur between now and the end of the year, depending on the airline. For the full text of the company's announcement click here." (via Boeing Connexion Service Advisory)
From reading what others in the blogosphere have written, I assumed that the service was still intact. I, frankly, find it a great value-added service to offer passengers. I never understood the price complaint, though. (Granted, I'm using the connection for free, as right now that's how its being offered on my flight. I would have been more than happy to pay $30 for a full flight's worth of access, however.) Here's proof, though, that it is working - and working well.
Because of latency and packet loss, VOIP applications will be sketchy at best. Normal data transfers, email work and web surfing have worked flawlessly. I'm ssh'd into a machine back home and the delay is there, but not bad enough to make it impossible to use. I would hate to be writing this via an ssh connection, though. In that case, long text input would be difficult to do.
Later I'll upload some pictures of the digs in business class on Lufthansa and my setup... I'd like to do so now, but my rear end is stuck in my seat and I'm unwilling to get out of it.
