This past spring BendixKing announced the AeroWave 100 inflight Internet system for general aviation. Now the avionics maker has revealed a pricing plan for the service that’s unique for charging customers not for how much data they consume but for the amount of time they’re logged on.
The AeroWave 100 system transmits its data through an Inmarsat L-band satellite at speeds of 150 to 200 kbps. That’s not blazingly fast, but it’s good enough for sending and receiving e-mail and text messages, checking weather and accessing other basic data.
The hardware retails for around $20,000, so it’s not exactly dirt cheap either.
BendixKing now says service plans will cost about $2,000 for 50 hours of usage. That’s a less confusing pricing strategy than changing by the megabit since it’s hard to know how much data you are transmitting. Smart use of the service could stretch that 50-hour allotment over many, many flights.
Bottom line, if you need Internet access after takeoff, the AeroWave 100 is so far the best option for light GA airplanes.
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