May 15, 2005 - LUFTHANSA and Connexion by Boeing are celebrating the first anniversary of the launch of their satellite broadband service by offering free access on all 42 equipped aircraft for a week from this Tuesday.

They have also published survey evidence suggesting that the service is extremely popular with passengers, allowing them to be productive in flight while also offering new entertainment options.

“Passengers are using the service to access email, surf the Internet, connect to their corporate VPNs and conduct VoIP phone calls,” says David Friedman, Connexion VP marketing and direct sales. “It’s very encouraging to know they are using it the way it was designed while also finding new and creative ways to entertain themselves in flight.”

The survey, covering 1,600 passengers in Asia, Europe and the USA who have used the service, showed that 93 per cent were either satisfied or very satisfied with it. One out of three of the respondents had used the service between two and four times, and 85 per cent said the availability of high-speed Internet access would affect their future choice of airline.

The top four applications were sending and receiving email, accessing the Internet for general information, accessing company intranets, and using the Internet for financial transactions.

* Japan Airlines last week launched the first trans-Pacific Connexion service, on its Tokyo-New York route. It is initially available on alternate days on flights JL005/JL006, moving to daily by the end of June. Access is available throughout the aircraft at the standard Connexion rate of $29.95 throughout the flight or $9.95 for the first 30 minutes and $0.25 for each additional minute. A $10 discount on the full-flight rate will be offered until July 15. JAL introduced Connexion service for the first time last December on its Tokyo-London route, served by two Boeing 747-400s.