Plane Sense April_FinanceNov 19/03/2013 14:06 Page 2
PHOTO COURTESY OF CESSNA
Advertising Enquiries see Page 8
liner or corporate jet is nothing new, of course; but the renewed interest and fascination to offer such services has grabbed the industry by storm. Charter companies market their fleets as Wi-Fi equipped and aircraft brokers advertise the same to gain a competitive advantage. I assume of this readership a basic understanding of how a Wireless Access Point (WAP) operates, and what it provides. But beyond the basics, a WAP provides much more than a “connection” for which Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) can access their email or surf the Internet. Having a WAP
onboard is changing the game for both the flight crew and the passengers. This article will break down the different areas of the aircraft to give you a better understanding of how having a WAP onboard makes life easier for everyone. In its simplest form a WAP onboard an aircraft is no different than someone going down to the coffee shop, ordering their favorite Latte and logging their PED on to the coffee shop ‘hotspot’. The basic technology is the same; there is access to the Internet, which is then connected to a router, which
www.AvBuyer.com
WORLD AIRCRAFT SALES MAGAZINE – April 2013
93
▲
pocket, and while the stewardess repeated her normal repertoire, she augmented her ritual by reminding passengers that the aircraft was Wi-Fi equipped. The final and most intrusive reminder shocked me a bit; located right next to the standard illuminated icon of the no smoking and fasten your seatbelts signs was a Wi-Fi symbol. I pondered whether to read the safety briefing or purchase this Wi-Fi service because it must be very important to have during this flight! Having Wi-Fi on board a commercial air-