Helping Aircraft Owners Avoid Unexpected Inflight Connectivity Charges

The only person who hates sky-high bills for inflight internet access more than an aircraft owner or principal is the maintenance director tasked with explaining those charges. Fortunately for both parties, a targeted, economical solution is available to avoid such awkward situations, while also improving a flight department’s bottom line.

Honeywell GoDirect Access allows flight crews to prioritize network bandwidth for passengers who need it most, by assigning a unique identifier to each device logged onto the aircraft network. Crew members control data consumption for each device, with higher-priority connections reserved for the aircraft owner, executives and VVIPs.

Other passengers may connect at reduced (and less expensive) speeds, and devices not in use may even be disconnected to further cut costs and preserve data speeds for other users. John Peterson, senior director of GoDirect cabin connectivity at Honeywell Aerospace, likened this capability to a common situation in many households.

"My kids turn the lights on whenever they walk into a room, but they don't turn them off, and it's not long before every light in our house is on,” he explained. “That's essentially the same as a mobile device staying logging onto an aircraft’s Wi-Fi network when it’s not being used, but of course the price is exponentially higher. It's vastly more efficient to be consuming data only on the device someone is actually using."

Honeywell GoDirect Access also provides less-costly connectivity options when the aircraft is operating in charter service. Operators may select an optional redirect page for users to log onto the aircraft's network and pay for the data they need—giving the owner ultimate control over managing the costs of inflight internet connections.

"It's nearly impossible in today's marketplace to offer an aircraft without data services for charter, but those services can hurt profitability if you can't manage how much data will be used on the flight,” Peterson noted. "Now, we're turning these cost centers for managed-fleet operators into managed costs, or even profit centers, based on who is onboard and for what mission.”

Yet another alternative for passengers requiring faster connections is what Peterson referred to as the "Diamond Lane," a specialized high-speed data-streaming option available through SwiftBroadband.

"If the connection is still too slow, even after the user's device has been assigned priority, there's a possibility the satellite beam itself may be congested," Peterson said. "For an additional cost, they may be assigned a dedicated streaming pipe for a fixed amount of time, and that provides an instantaneous improvement in connectivity speeds for the passenger.

"Again, we're turning the light on only when it's needed," he continued. "Honeywell GoDirect Access is the only system to offer that capability."

Finding the Right Connectivity Solution for an Operator’s Unique Needs

The variety and complexity of available inflight connectivity options, combined with increasingly demanding passenger expectations, may be daunting to operators. That’s why Honeywell  also offers on-site consulting services called GoDirect Connectivity Consultation to determine the best solution for individual operators, utilizing a team of more than 30 support engineers around the globe who are ready to respond to client needs.

"We will sit down with them and cater the optimum solution around the simple question: 'What do you want to do on the aircraft?'" Peterson said. "Some want only to read their email and connect to their corporate network; others want to surf the web, post to Facebook and stream movies.

"We've been a hardware provider in this market from the beginning, so we heard a lot of feedback from operators," he continued. "Most of that came down to, 'I had no idea data would cost so much, and I don't know how to budget for it.' Honeywell realized we could also be a services provider and a valued partner in providing a comprehensive consulting service for them."

Another critical tool in Honeywell's GoDirect portfolio is its network of GoDirect Service Centers, providing a complete model of an aircraft's unique inflight connectivity network to quickly identify the best solution for individual operators, and diagnose systems issues when problems arise.

"Each service center has the complete suite of connectivity equipment for Inmarsat, JetWave and SwiftBroadband services onboard typical business aircraft," explained Curt Gray, Honeywell senior director of connectivity support. "This allows our team to remote-in and build each aircraft's individual connectivity configuration remotely as they're setting up new systems."

Once those systems are in the field, GoDirect Service Centers  also help Honeywell engineers to remedy any connectivity issues reported by operators. "With the aircraft's network already configured, this helps alleviate problems of second-guessing installation or airplane issues," Gray continued. "That really cuts down the time needed to bring the system back online."

Service centers  are just one part of Honeywell's expanding customer-support network, which has grown threefold over the past 18 months. In addition to strategically located support personnel around the globe who are ready to respond to customer concerns within 24 hours, Honeywell has teams working with aircraft manufacturers to ensure smooth integration of connectivity solutions.

"This level of service offers the best solution for customers," Peterson concluded. "There is a significant difference between what others may offer and what Honeywell does. We have the hardware, the network tools and the support network necessary to provide an optimum inflight connectivity experience for passengers, and the convenience and security of a managed budget for operators."