Air Canada intends to begin offering
live internet service to customers inflight starting next spring under an
agreement announced today with Aircell.
“Air Canada prides itself on connecting Canada and the world and an
important element of staying connected today is having use of the internet.
That is why Air Canada is taking a major step forward to becoming the first
Canadian airline to provide its customers inflight, online access through
Gogo. In cooperation with Aircell, and pending Canadian regulatory approvals,
we plan to eventually offer internet access system-wide so customers can
email, work and surf the net while flying, and more fully enjoy what is
already a superior travel experience,” said Charles McKee, Vice President,
Marketing, at Air Canada.
“Air Canada has long been recognized as a leader in cabin merchandising
and we are pleased to have Gogo selected as part of that marketing strategy,”
said Jack Blumenstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aircell.
“Adding Air Canada as Aircell’s newest airline partner and our first
international customer will be yet another milestone for our company. As we
continue to grow our U.S. network and explore our international expansion
plans, Air Canada will have the distinction of being the first.”
Air Canada intends to begin operating Gogo by spring 2009 aboard
Airbus A319 aircraft on select flights to the U.S. west coast and will be
accessible by customers with a standard, wi-fi equipped laptop or Personal
Electronic Device (PED). Initially, the Gogo system will be powered by
Aircell’s existing network and only available in the U.S. in order to make Air
Canada’s rollout fast, economical and simple. Upon successful completion of
the initial phase, Air Canada plans to extend the system throughout its North
American and International markets as Aircell’s coverage network expands.
Aircell looks forward to the licensing and rollout of a Canadian Air-to-Ground
network to make Gogo available in Canada and facilitate Air Canada’s future
fleet-wide deployment.
