InFlight Labs Announces New Messaging Service Available On WiFi Airliners

Most airlines are now outfitting their aircraft with WiFi service that passengers can use while they are in the air. The WiFi services allow web surfing, game playing, and chat to take place in the air. Some of the aircraft also allow voice calls to be made. InFlight Labs has announced a new service that works with WiFi equipped aircraft that will let the passengers have text conversations in the air.

The tech used by the company allows for two-way communications with groups of up to 25 colleagues at one time and works at up to 30,000 feet. The messages take 4-7 seconds to reach the recipient and the service is supported on computers with an iPad app comign soon. The messaging service gives the user time stamps message history and a text message calendar.

The company says that the messaging service will be priced at $1 to $1.99 depending on the package the user chooses. It's not clear if that is for a set number of messages or if it is unlimited. "Business travelers can use their laptop or iPad (coming soon) to access this simple web interface to send and receive messages (approx. 4-7 seconds) to any mobile phone in the U.S. Add to that the ability to group message up to 25 colleagues at once and hold 'text conversations' while at 30,000 feet, and you have a powerful business productivity tool," says Tiffany Van Alst, Head of Strategic Alliances for the InFlight Labs, LLC.