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October 1996
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Coffee, Tea, or FTP?
Dave Andrews
Communications for air travelers in the future won't be so disconnected or rely so heavily on battery-powered notebooks. Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, GA), in partnership with Olin Aerospace Company (Redmond, WA), has already begun testing its first in-seat power supply system. Passengers on the airline's Spirit of De
lta Boeing 767 can sit down, plug in their computers, and not worry about battery power. Other airlines are also evaluating similar in-flight power systems.
Further out are communications systems that would let airplane passengers browse the Web live. Systems such as Airview, from a company called The Network Connection (Alpharetta, GA), combine video entertainment, catalogs, PC games and applications, and possibly Web access. With Web access, travel
ers could send e-mail or browse competitors' sites. However, before live Web access is possible, the satellite network that planes currently use for in-flight phone and fax services will need upgrading. And there's another matter. "Before deploying any next-generation communication system," says a spokesman for United Airlines, "we're going to take a close look at how much weight they add to the airplane.
Matthew Wilson more...
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