Subject: [NEXTEL-1] In-flight Wi-Fi trial a success

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2003 00:51:56 -0400

In-flight Wi-Fi trial a success

23/04/2003

Lufthansa and Boeing have announced that based on passenger usage and response, the
three-month in-flight Internet connectivity service demonstration has been a resounding
success.

During the pioneering demonstration that began January 15 on the Frankfurt-to
Washington-Dulles route, airline passengers have used the latest satellite-based broadband
communication technologies - including wireless fidelity (WiFi) access onboard - to send
and receive e-mails, access the World Wide Web or their firewall-protected corporate
intranets, entertain themselves and to stay in touch with friends and colleagues.

"We've been absolutely delighted with the level of passenger acceptance and the pioneering
enthusiasm demonstrated by the entire Lufthansa team in its efforts to generate in-market
awareness of the service capabilities," said Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson.
"The passenger feedback we've received from both the Lufthansa and British Airways demos
has been extremely valuable and overwhelmingly positive and, together, we are working to
bring a robust and revolutionary new communication service to their passengers, and to
airline passengers worldwide."

Through a system capability provided by Connexion by Boeing, passengers have been able to
access Lufthansa FlyNet - the working title of the Lufthansa portal service - to send and
receive e-mails, access the World Wide Web and corporate intranets and to check news and
airline information. Unlike other in-flight communication services that are based on
narrowband technologies, the Connexion by Boeing service provides a robust,
satellite-based broadband connection to aircraft that allows for simultaneous,
multifaceted applications for both the crew and passengers.

Working together, Lufthansa and Connexion by Boeing have used the three-month
demonstration to gain as much information as possible about passenger preferences
regarding service pricing, content, ease-of-use and overall functionality. Lufthansa and
Connexion by Boeing released some of the preliminary data gathered during the demo:

- More than 140 Lufthansa flights have flown with broadband connectivity onboard - An
average of 50-80 simultaneous users per flight accessed the service - 95 percent of
respondents to post-flight surveys reported being very or extremely satisfied with the
service - The service bandwidth capability was the most acclaimed service aspect -
Passengers described the speed-of-service as somewhere between ISDN and DSL-quality - 150
passengers logged onto the service during the inaugural January 15 flight

The service demonstration concluded on April 18 when LH flight 419 from Washington Dulles
landed in Frankfurt. Lufthansa will factor the data gathered during the demo into its
decision on equipping its long-haul fleet of aircraft with the Connexion by Boeing
service, which would commence in 2004.
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