Lufthansa launches in-flight Internet access

FRANKFURT -- Some 70 years after a passenger on a flight from Berlin to Vienna sent the first radio telegram, a new era in in-flight communications began today as commercial airline passengers experienced broadband internet access for the first time.

Passengers aboard a Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 from Frankfurt to Washington were able to use their personal laptops and ones provided by the airline to gain high-speed connections to the Internet, including full access to their personal or business e-mail accounts and files. They were able to attach files to their outgoing e-mails or open attachments from incoming e-mails, get the latest news, look up information about their destination or shop online. The service, which Lufthansa has branded as FlyNet, is powered by Connexion by Boeing.

During the three-month demonstration, Lufthansa will make the service available free-of-charge to passengers throughout the airplane, which flies daily between Frankfurt and Washington-Dulles International Airport as flights LH 418 (westbound) and LH 419 (eastbound).

1931 news account

This technological achievement follows another history-making first for the airline. From a 1931 news account: "As of 1st February 1931 passengers on the Luft Hansa route 32 Berlin-Dresden-Prague-Vienna will be able to send private telegrams by radio telephone. Luft Hansa is the first scheduled European airline to offer this service. Simple, uncoded messages can be sent from the aircraft to Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Telegrams may contain no more than 15 words. The charge is 1 Reichsmark per word."

"The very idea of FlyNet was exciting, but what really inspired me was the enthusiasm, the professionalism and the stamina of our team during its implementation," said Wolfgang Mayrhuber, deputy chairman of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. "Innovation with the customer in mind has resulted in today's world premiere."

For the trial phase, Lufthansa has already secured leading organizations such as Siemens, BASF, Software AG and Boehringer Ingelheim, which will take part in the trial phase and test access to their own corporate Intranet and mail servers via a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This VPN will provide a secure, firewall-protected Internet connection for staff traveling on business.

This special application is possible with the large bandwidth of up to three megabits per second for downloads and a current speed of 128 kilobits per second for uploads (this will later increase to 750 kilobits per second). Even at a cruising altitude of 10,000 metres and speeds of up to 900 km/h, FlyNet guarantees transmission of information and entertainment content and seamless integration into corporate communication networks, amid all the comforts of the best in-flight service.

Trial phase

During the three-month trial phase of FlyNet, Lufthansa will be the first airline worldwide to provide powerful, high-speed broadband access during a scheduled flight. The technically ambitious project is the result of the collaboration between Lufthansa and Connexion by Boeing launched in mid-June 2001. From March, as the next obvious step in the FlyNet project, Lufthansa is equipping all of its 55 airport lounges worldwide with WLAN Internet access in conjunction with its partner Vodafone D2.

The three-month service demonstration with Lufthansa will be followed by a three-month service demonstration with British Airways, scheduled to begin in mid-February. Japan Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) also have announced plans to equip longer range jetliners in their fleets beginning in 2004. 

The new Lufthansa service will be available free of charge to all passengers on Lufthansa flights between Frankfurt and Washington (LH 418 and LH 419) exclusively until 15 April. The FlyNet portal, which was specially developed with Tomorrow-Focus AG, provides a full range of up-to-date information, including financial, travel and lifestyle news, as well as Miles&More, product and service information from Lufthansa. 

Updates on major news from the world of politics, business, sport and culture and a wealth of information about the region to which the aircraft is flying will also be constantly relayed via satellite. From mid-2004, use of the FlyNet portal during routine operations will remain free of charge. Later on, Internet access during scheduled operations is expected to cost between 30 and 35 euros per flight leg. In addition, passengers will be able to redeem Miles&More bonus miles to surf the Internet.

Access to the Internet itself is by a standard web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape. If passengers encounter any problems with FlyNet during a flight, help is immediately at hand. On each flight there will be a team of three highly trained FlyNet Assistants, who are easily recognizable by a special uniform.

Modified Boeing 747-400

Lufthansa Technik is responsible for the technical modification of the Boeing 747-400 and for ensuring its airworthiness, and will also carry out the maintenance of all aircraft-relevant components. During the setting up of the information structure on the Boeing "Sachsen-Anhalt", Lufthansa Systems proved its expertise as a specialist IT provider. The components for the on-board data network were supplied by Cisco Systems and were specially certificated for use on aircraft by Lufthansa Technik.

"With broadband connectivity, the Connexion by Boeing service gives travelers new and unprecedented choices for managing their time in flight and on the ground," said Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson. "Lufthansa is widely recognized and respected as a leader in innovation, in communication and in customer service, and is demonstrating to its passengers today what the world of tomorrow will be like. Our collaboration with Lufthansa has resulted in the shared vision that has made this historical service available today."

Connexion by Boeing is a mobile information services provider that is bringing high-speed Internet, data and entertainment connectivity to aircraft in flight. The service currently is available to the executive services market in the U.S., which includes operators of private and government aircraft. 

Cisco Systems is providing the technology for the onboard network with Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b) compliant wireless connectivity throughout all the cabins and in addition an Ethernet connector in the passenger seats.

Cisco router

Five Cisco Aironet 350 Series Access Points have been fitted throughout the plane, along with one Cisco 3640 Router and nine Cisco Catalyst 3548 XL Series Switches. The Cisco standard equipment is modified, tested and certified by Lufthansa Technik in order to meet civil aviation regulations.

"We examined a couple of other options for the onboard network but we chose Cisco for its end-to-end wireless and wired networking solutions, as this company was flexible enough to cope with the very special requirements in the aircraft environment," said Burkard Wigger, project manager of FlyNet. "I am convinced that the Broadband Internet Access will be appreciated by our passengers, as they can use their time on board for information, fun and work."

The broadband Internet system was installed by Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg during a so-called D-Check (the most comprehensive overhaul in the life of an aircraft) which the "Sachsen-Anhalt" underwent in March 2002. 

Directly behind the "hump" on the Boeing 747-400, the heart of the system (the receiving and transmitting antenna which was specially developed by Connexion by Boeing) can be seen. The flat antenna operates in much the same way as a satellite dish for domestic television reception. Technically speaking, the main difference is that the antenna, with the aid of the aircraft's own navigation system is aligned to the relevant satellite. 

Installing the computer network in the aircraft cabin, which permits the connection to a laptop in the first place, presented a technical challenge. The network required for a Boeing 747-400 with a capacity of about 390 seats is equivalent to that of a medium-sized company. Lufthansa is the first airline worldwide to install commercially available computer network components on an aircraft and to certify them accordingly.

A comprehensive survey conducted by Lufthansa in 2001 revealed widespread customer interest in in-flight Internet access. Surprisingly, more than 50 per cent of those asked said they would welcome the offer and particularly business travelers were willing to pay for this service. Another important finding was that most of the potential users would prefer to use their own end device. This presents a further technical challenge.