Virgin America Deploys Broadband Service for Local Passengers

AirCell is partnering with Virgin America to offer broadband Internet services for passengers traveling in the continental U.S. sometime in 2008.

AirCell’s new service will allow Virgin America guests to check e-mail, surf the Web, tap into an office network and stay current on the latest news, using either Virgin America’s Red in-flight entertainment system or their own Wi-Fi enabled laptops, Smartphones, PDAs, BlackBerrys and portable gaming systems while in flight.

As part of the partnership, AirCell and Virgin America will integrate AirCell’s broadband service into Virgin America’s groundbreaking in-flight entertainment system, Red(TM). In a first-of-its-kind deployment, Virgin America will launch the service across its entire fleet of aircraft.

This high-speed broadband Internet service is made possible by AirCell’s unique air-to-ground cellular network, which transmits and receives data between the ground and the aircraft at broadband speeds.

“AirCell’s broadband service is the obvious choice to add to our guest experience,” said Charles Ogilvie, Virgin America’s Director of In-flight Entertainment & Partnerships. “Our goal with broadband is simple: let guests decide how and when they want to communicate and interact by providing relevant options. In AirCell we have a partner who knows and understands innovation.”