Re-Connexion ?

  • Posted by Jason on December 23rd, 2006 filed in Wi-Fi

Lufthansa says the airline is seeking a way to restart Boeing’s ill-fated Connexion in-flight Internet system. Lufthansa, along with Panasonic’s Avionics unit, Luxembourg satellite-operator SES Global and Connexion subcontractor ViaSat

A group that includes airlines, equipment suppliers and satellite companies hope to breathe new life into an effort to offer Internet access to plane passengers, even though Boeing Co. pulled the plug after investing about $1 billion in the project.

But so far, arguments over who will subsidize the money-losing venture, and how it can be modified to make it more appealing to passengers, have impeded progress, people familiar with the matter said. Any replacement service also is likely to be more limited in number of planes and geographic coverage.

A Lufthansa AG spokeswoman said the carrier is seeking a way to restart Boeing’s Connexion in-flight Internet system toward the end of 2007. It leads a group that includes the Panasonic Avionics unit of Japan’s Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.; Luxembourg satellite-operator SES Global SA; and Connexion subcontractor ViaSat Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif., the people familiar with the matter said.

A spokeswoman for SES declined to comment. A spokesman for ViaSat said “there is certainly a desire” to restart the service but operating costs “make that hard.” A Panasonic spokesman said the company “is working aggressively with a strong list of partners” to push ahead “with a feasible business plan.”

Financial and regulatory complications threaten to delay decisions at least until late summer or fall, with some industry officials predicting the service probably won’t resume until early 2008. With costs estimated at more than $100 million annually, agreement may be unreachable.

David Friedman, a former Connexion vice president, said: “If you take away some of the service” over thinly traveled routes to Asia, Africa and some Pacific regions, “I believe the costs can be brought down to a manageable level.”

A spokesman for Boeing said it isn’t in the talks but keeps working with carriers and suppliers to phase out the service by Dec. 31. Korean Air, Singapore Airlines Ltd. and other large carriers have been involved in the latest talks, the people familiar with the matter said.

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