It's back. And it's back faster than ever. The IT is the restored Lufthansa in flight WiFi service that for about a year was, well pardon the pun, like being in pure heaven for those that constantly need to "stay connected."
Back in the day when Lufthansa and a few other international airlines offered in-flight Wi-Fi the service was a dream come true. I recall heading to Europe on a flight from SFO to Munich just after the launch of our agency's originated Nokia Blogger Relations Program back in 2005. I was watching as the news coverage took hold, and right before my eyes knew we had a hit on our hands. During the flight I was in constant touch with our web master who quickly realized we needed a bigger server, which required my approval (which I immediately gave) and in turn I contacted my then Nokia client contact to get the additional costs into the budget. While on that same flight I also managed some questions about the program, replied to bloggers who were skeptical and basically managed the whole program while "up in the air" while my staff managed the physical aspects and coordinated a few other matters that arose as easily as I did.
Fast forward a bit later, the Boeing Wi-Fi service failed, largely due to lack of usage and high cost of installation and in-flight Wi-Fi went away. For me that meant a continuation of red-eye flights domestically, and a return to sleeping on International flights, something that actually wasn't such a bad thing. But what also reappeared on nights I took international flights was the dreaded arrival inbox of hundreds of emails that needed to be "actioned" in some way shape or form, and some which may have been more critical than others.
With the restoration of in-flight Wi-Fi on their planes, Lufthansa worked with Panasonic to build out the inflight system and Deutsche Telekom in Germany for the Internet. Other airlines, like Virgin Atlantic are expected to add the service too, meaning more flights to get work done more conveniently, as in my book, connectivity equals convenience.
You also have to applaud Lufthansa, and their team which stuck with the idea of in-flight Wi-Fi for four years after the original deployment was killed off. Many companies turn their back on an idea that failed, the same way H-P's board turned their back on CEO Mark Hurd, and near term to their detriment. Not so for Lufthansa, whose team along with Panasonic seemed to since day zero been looking for a solution and was reportedly working publicly on the idea as far back as 2007.
For those who have experienced the peaceful and stressless exiting of an airplane, knowing their email inbox is at ZERO in a far off land, the feeling is pure joy. It's the same joy of having Wi-Fi on a train, like the Heathrow Express or the Amtrak Acela and some Amtrak Surfliners here in California. For me, it's no longer about being simply "Always On." What it's about is the ability to be able to GET ONLINE , and GET OFFLINE as the trip progresses, making sure things that need to be done are getting done, and that nothing that's unexpected arises when it could have been managed. It means no one waiting around, and it also means that as we enter the era of a more greatly accepted remote workforce, as iPass pointed out in their report, and as we'll see it this week's GigaOm Network event, it's access to connectivity, not solely being mobile or having infrastructure is what matters, so having in-flight connectivity is one link in that NetWork chain that matters, and over time, will play a more important role as the business which is conducted remotely, needs to get done face to face, from no matter where one is.
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