Delta May Delay In-Flight Internet

High-speed Internet access in the sky could be on of those things that doesn't fit with the new realities facing the airline industry, which has seen a decline in passenger traffic and a sharp drop in revenues since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has decided to reevaluate the installation of high-speed Internet service through Connexion by Boeing, in which it took an ownership interest this summer.

Connexion, which is owned by Delta, Boeing, American Airlines, and United Air Lines, would provide airline passengers with connection speeds of between 1 to 1.5 megabits per second at a cost of between $10 and $20 an hour. It would require retrofitting aircraft with Ethernet-type wiring and phased-array antennas to connect to a high-speed satellite service.

Andy McDill, a Delta spokesperson, says that given the current issues facing the industry, Delta is "reevaluating the time line for testing and initial installation of the [Connexion] service, which was originally scheduled for the second half of 2002."

This is in keeping with Delta's plans to reexamine its entire IT budget and focus on daily operations, he says.

Terrance Scott, a Boeing spokesperson, says he believes Connexion's airline partners remain committed to the vision of broadband access and see value in the business, despite dramatic changes that have occurred since this summer, when the three launch partners signed on with Chicago-based Boeing.

John Wade, executive vice president of Seattle-based Tenzing Communications, which has an agreement to provide slower (2.4 kilobit per second) service to nine foreign carriers, including Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways and U.K.-based Virgin Atlantic Airways, says that at least seven of the company's airline customers remain committed to that service.

The other two are Helsinki, Finland-based Finnair Oyj, which has halted all new projects, and Zurich-based Swissair Group, which Wade says he assumes is no longer placing a high priority on Internet access. Swissair briefly halted service this week before receiving emergency finding from the Swiss government.

Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner in Stamford Connecticut, says that deferring technology projects such as Connexion makes sense for the cash-strapped airline industry.

"They're cutting back to the bare necessities and are engaged in a survival strategy," says Dulaney. Given today's realities, he says, broadband access from an airplane is "a luxury."