American Airlines, the launch customer for Aircell’s Gogo in-flight wireless system, says it now has the service available on 100 of its MD80s, with 50 more MD80s to go by the end of the year. The service is also installed on American’s 15 Boeing 767-200s.
Though it was the first customer to sign up, American has lagged behind competitors like Delta, which will have its entire mainline fleet installed with the Gogo service by early fall. AirTran and Virgin America already have the service on their entire long haul fleets, and US Airways said recently that it would also install the connectivity. United Airlines and Air Canada also have announced plans to use Gogo.
Aircell says that two-thirds of all flights between Kennedy airport and Los Angeles International or San Francisco International now offer the service.
The Gogo system is based on land towers. Row44, a satellite-based competing system, is currently being tested on four Southwest Airlines 737s and a single Alaska Airlines 737.
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