Aircell to Power Gogo Inflight Internet Service

TEMPE, Ariz., July 23, 2009 - US Airways (NYSE:LCC) is turning aircraft into Wi-Fi ‘hotspots' by partnering with Aircell to provide Gogo® Inflight Internet service beginning in early 2010. Full Internet access including Web, Instant Messaging, email and VPN access will be available for purchase to passengers with laptops, smartphones and other Wi-Fi enabled devices.

"Gogo Inflight Internet will allow our customers to make the most of their flying time by catching up on work or relaxing and surfing the Internet. This is an exciting new option for our passengers that we believe will enhance their travel experience," said Andrew Nocella, senior vice president, Marketing and Planning.

Gogo will initially be installed on US Airways A321 aircraft, flying select domestic routes. A map detailing those routes can be found at www.usairways.com. And later next year, customers will be able to see if Wi-Fi is available on a specific flight by looking for the Wi-Fi icon while booking their flight on usairways.com.

The pricing for Gogo Inflight Internet on US Airways will be announced closer to the launch date. Customers will be able to choose service from Aircell's standard pricing structure, which currently ranges from $5.95 to $12.95, depending on the length of flight and type of Wi-Fi enabled device used.

"Gogo is for anyone who wants to make plane time their time," said Jack Blumenstein, president and chief executive officer of Aircell. "Whether you want to stay connected to the office, your family or friends; whether you want to work, play or learn; Gogo is for you. We look forward to working with US Airways to bring the world to its passengers."

More information about US Airways' new Gogo Inflight Internet service can be found online at usairways.com and gogoinflight.com.

The captain of Cactus 1549—the codename for flight 1549—is cooler than Batman, Iron Man, and frikkin Admiral Adama all rolled into one. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, 57, is a former US Air Force fighter pilot who left the military in 1980. Couple that with the fact that he is also a safety expert and a glider pilot, and you will understand why his nerves are made of steel.

Jump to minute 1:26, when the birds hit the fans and all the action starts. Then, keep listening until he decices to go down onto the Hudson river rather than going to Teterboro airport's runway one:

AWE1549: Ah this is Cactus 1549 hit birds. We lost thrust in both engines. We're turning back towards Laguardia
L116 (NY departure radar contact): OK, yeah, you need to return to Laguardia. Turn left heading of uh two two zero.
AWE1549: Two two zero.
L116 (to Laguardia tower): Tower stop your departures. We got an emergency returning.
LGA: Who is it?
L116: It's 1529 (sic). He got a bird strike. He lost all engines. He lost the thrust in the engines. He's returning immediately.
LGA: Cactus 1529 which engines???
L116: He lost thrust in both engines, he said.
L116: Cactus 1529 if we can get it to you, do you want to try to land runway one three?
AWE1549: We're unable. We may end up in the Hudson.
L116: Alright Cactus 1549, it's going to be left traffic to runway three one. (First he got the number wrong and now he's not listening. Is this guy this thick?)
AWE1549: Unable.
L116: OK, what do you need to land? (big iron balls, that's what)
L116: Cactus 1549 runway four is available if you want to make left traffic to runway four.
AWE1549: I'm not sure we can make any runway. What's over to our right? Anything in New Jersey? Maybe Teterboro?
L116: OK, yeah, off to your right side is Teterboro airport.
L116: Do you want to try to go to Teterboro?
AWE1549: Yes.
L116: Teterboro, uh empire actually, Laguardia departure got an emergency inbound.
TEB: OK, go ahead.
L116: Cactus 1529 (again?) over the George Washington Bridge wants to go to the airport right now.
TEB: He wants to go to our airport. Check. Does he need any assistance?
L116: Ah yes, he was a bird strike. Can I get him in for runway one?
TEB: Runway one, that's good.
L116: Cactus 1549 turn right two eight zero. You can land on runway one at Teterboro.
AWE1549: We can't do it.
L116: OK, which runway would like at Teterboro.
AWE1549: We're gonna be in the Hudson.

(understandable silence from La Guardia)

L116: I'm sorry, say again Cactus.

Then listen to another pilot repeating his last transmission, right at the end, half scared half surprised. Seriously, I want to be this guy when I grow up. [Thanks Kat]

[Thanks readers]

According to the student, his Xbox "had a specialized hard drive and components he said cost more than $1,000." Yeah right—"specialized." At any rate, the lawsuit is seeking $1700 for the loss of the system, non-economic distress of $25,000 or, better yet, the $1 million maximum allowed by law. Of course, all of this is moot considering that airline federal loss limits are capped at $3,300 per bag—and that excludes electronics.

I feel for the kid, I really do. After all, if someone at US Airways stole the unit he should be awarded reasonable damages. However, you would think that a student at Yale would be smart enough to know that you don't put expensive electronics in checked baggage. Apparently, they aren't teaching classes in common sense over there. [GamePolitics Image via Flickr]

Update: Sacha, a reader expert in the matter, has wrote to me saying this is not a simulation of a bird striking into a turbo fan, but a simulation of a blade coming loose, which may happen as a result of fatigue or a crack.

...is not a bird test, it's what's called a "blade out" test. Explosive charges are placed on a blade to simulate a blade coming loose — this could happen as a result of fatigue, an unchecked, unseen crack in an engine blade. What you're seeing is essentially "diamond cutting diamond" — and that's why they do the test. Turbo fan blades are extremely strong, and at that speed, they'll chain reaction and destroy each other. You can't really prevent that. But what we don't want is a flying fan blade to hit the fuselage, enter the wing (where fuel is kept), or otherwise leave the engine cowling in any way. That's what this test is for — you want to contain the explosion.

I can hear your confusion: "B-b-b-but, the engine didn't blow up!" — that's because it's not supposed to. We do testing for bird strikes, the engines are built to handle it. They're even designed to continue running, up until a certain size and number of bird ingestions, and beyond that, shut down safely. But they're *never*, ever fragile or brittle enough to be seriously damaged by a hollow-boned soft-bodied bird.

Probably what happened in the US Airways Airbus' engines before its Hudsonlanding.

Actually, here a bird hits the engine in slow motion:

Allegedly, a lot of birds is what caused the US Airways flight to waterland on the Hudson.

I have been talking with Jorge Mozo, a dear friend of mine who is an Airbus A340 pilot. He said the pilot is a genius, for both his decision on the Hudson river—as it's quieter than the open sea—and his amazing skill; "He got a bit of luck, but his landing was absolutely brilliant". Specially when, after having both engines out, his electrical system was probably on emergency mode and the flight computer that compensates for the plane behavior and the fly-by-wire controls was off. Big skill and big cojones indeed. [Twitter—Thanks Mona]

The systems, which weigh about 500 pounds, will be yanked from all US Airways planes in November to save on precious, precious fuel. With airlines such as Virgin America, Delta and JetBlue offering personal entertainment setups with large selections of movies, games, TV shows, and other such things, it's pretty amazing that US Airways is axing something that's been standard on all long flights for years. This is in addition to getting rid of free snacks, charging $2 for drinks that used to be free, charging $15 to check a single bag, and charging $10 to punch you in the face when you get off the plane.

Who in their right mind would ever fly US Airways if they had a choice? Seriously, I want to hear a single good reason for flying US Airways other than "no one else flies to where I need to go for this important funeral/wedding/key party." Let's hear it. [Charlotte Observer via Consumerist]