PRNewswire
LONG BEACH, Calif.
LONG BEACH, Calif., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- WAEA Conference and Exhibition -- Aircell®, the world's leading provider of airborne communications, and Air Canada, Canada's largest airline, today announced that they have reached an agreement, whereby the airline intends to offer the Aircell mobile broadband service, Gogo™, to passengers on trans-border flights expanding Aircell's North American footprint and making Air Canada the first Canadian airline to offer inflight Wi-Fi.
Under this agreement, Air Canada will roll out the Gogo system on select flights, initially installing the system on its Airbus A319 aircraft that fly across the border into the United States. The airline expects to begin its initial deployment by spring 2009.
The Gogo system on Air Canada's trans-border routes will be available first in the U.S. and powered by Aircell's existing U.S. network, making Air Canada's initial rollout fast, economical and simple. Air Canada and Aircell expect that the Gogo service will eventually provide passengers with seamless coverage from key Air Canada cities such as Montreal and Toronto to every Air Canada market in the continental U.S. Additionally, Aircell looks forward to the licensing and roll out of a Canadian Air-to-Ground network that will facilitate Air Canada's future fleet-wide deployment.
"Air Canada has long been recognized as a leader in cabin merchandising and we are pleased to have Gogo selected as part of that marketing strategy," commented Jack Blumenstein, President and CEO, Aircell. "Adding Air Canada as Aircell's newest airline partner and first international customer will mark yet another milestone for our company. As we continue to grow our U.S. network and explore our international expansion plans, Air Canada will have the distinction of being the first."
"Air Canada prides itself on connecting Canada and the world and an important element of staying connected today is having use of the Internet. That is why Air Canada is taking a major step forward to becoming the first Canadian airline to provide its customers inflight, online access through Gogo. In cooperation with Aircell, and pending Canadian regulatory approvals, we plan to eventually offer internet access system-wide so customers can email, work and surf the net while flying, and more fully enjoy what is already a superior travel experience," said Charles McKee, Vice President, Marketing, at Air Canada.
About Aircell
Aircell is the world's leading provider of airborne communications. As winner of an exclusive FCC frequency license in 2006, Aircell® has built a revolutionary mobile broadband network for commercial and business aviation. In 2008, the Aircell Network and its inflight portal, Gogo™, revolutionized the commercial airline passenger flight experience by delivering a robust Internet experience at 35,000 feet. In addition, the Aircell Network provides airlines with connectivity to operations and a path to enhanced cabin services such as video, audio, television and more. A similar feature set is available to Business aircraft operators. Aircell has facilities in Broomfield, Colorado, and Itasca, Illinois. Aircell's vision is to give everyone the ability to stay in touch, in flight®. For more information about Aircell, please visit http://www.aircell.com/.
About Gogo
Gogo™, powered by Aircell, turns a commercial airplane into a Wi-Fi hotspot with true inflight Internet access. Passengers with Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, can surf the Web, check any e-mail, Instant Message, access a corporate VPN and more. For more information about Gogo, please visit http://www.gogoinflight.com/.
About Air Canada
Montreal-based Air Canada provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 170 destinations on five continents. Canada's flag carrier is the 14th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 34 million customers annually with a fleet consisting of 335 aircraft. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, providing the world's most comprehensive air transportation network.
Aircell, Gogo, and in touch, in flight are trademarks of Aircell LLC.
SOURCE: Aircell LLC
CONTACT: Brenda Chroniak of RF|Binder, +1-781-455-8250,
aircell@rfbinder.com, for Aircell; John Reber of Air Canada, +1-514-422-5676
Web site: http://www.aircell.com/
http://www.gogoinflight.com/
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