– Transaero to Offer High-Bandwidth and Innovative In-flight Connectivity Services Aboard Narrow and Wide Body Aircraft With Row 44’s In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Ecosystem

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. and MOSCOW | May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Row 44, Inc., provider of the world’s leading In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Ecosystem, announced today that Transaero Airlines, Russia’s first private airline, will soon enable its passengers to enjoy broadband Internet access and innovative in-flight services aboard the company’s narrow-body and 767 fleets.

Transaero selected Row 44’s broadband entertainment platform to deliver a wide variety of in-flight services – ranging from true broadband Internet access to live television, e-commerce, video on demand, and bookable destination services. All services will be accessible through the passenger’s own Wi-Fi devices across the airline’s routes within and from Russia to North America, the Caribbean, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

“This is an exceptionally exciting time for Transaero and for our customers,” said Alexander Krinichansky, First Deputy General Director and Executive Director. “We are most pleased to be able to deploy such innovative services for the enjoyment of our customers. Row 44’s services are a great complement to the superior-quality experience for which Transaero is well known.”

“We are honored that Transaero has selected Row 44 to deliver its customers a uniquely innovative in-flight broadband entertainment experience,” said Travis Christ, Row 44’s Chief Marketing & Sales Officer. “Row 44 always seeks to work with the most innovative airlines, and Transaero continues to demonstrate its leadership in innovation. We are pleased to support Transaero in creating an unparalleled broadband entertainment experience to its customers wherever they fly.”

Row 44 Brings NFL Network Including Thursday Night Football Games to Passengers’ Wi-Fi Devices In-Flight

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.| January 30, 2012/PRNewswire/– Row 44, Inc., provider of the world’s leading In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Platform, is partnering with the NFL Network to deliver live and on-demand NFL Network programming, including Thursday Night Football NFL games, in-flight to passengers’ Wi-Fi enabled devices.

NFL Network is the destination for all that happens around the sport of football. NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and provides viewers with nearly 2,000 hours a year of original programming, including: NFL Total Access, NFL GameDay, Top 10, Playbook, NFL Replay, NFL Classic Games plus the Emmy award-winning Sound FX and America’s Game series.

NFL Network is also the home of Thursday Night Football NFL regular season games, every NFL preseason game, AFL games, the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine game, plus more coverage of the NFL Draft, Hall of Fame ceremony, NFL Scouting Combine and Super Bowl than any other network.

Passengers will also have access to NFL RedZone, the channel that every Sunday afternoon covers the most exciting moments of every game around the league. NFL RedZone, produced by NFL Network, whips around every NFL game on Sunday afternoons, delivering the touchdowns and most exciting moments as they happen. When a team goes inside the 20-yard line, fans see the crucial plays live. The channel keeps fans up-to-date in real time, switching from game to game with live look-ins, highlights and a chance to see every important play.

The new Row 44 service will also give passengers in-flight access to NFL Network’s video-on-demand library. This extensive library of exclusive NFL Network shows and NFL Films produced programming includes classic games, Super Bowls, documentaries and more.

Commercial airlines that select Row 44’s In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Platform will be able to offer their customers the service streamed to their own Wi-Fi enabled devices.

“NFL Network is a football fan’s fantasy, generously opening up the network’s suite of great football programming to air travelers – from exciting live games, to highlights, analysis, classic games and the world-renowned library of NFL Films,” said Row 44 Chief Commercial Officer Howard Lefkowitz.

Lefkowitz added: “We are thrilled that NFL Network and NFL RedZone will further differentiate Row 44’s In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Platform as the world’s most extensive broadband experience for passengers today.”

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Row 44, Inc., provider of the world’s leading In-Flight Broadband Entertainment Platform, today announced it is launching a first-of-its-kind service with several launch partners to deliver live Internet Protocol television (IPTV) in-flight to passengers’ smart phones, laptops and tablet devices.

Passengers will be able to watch, on their own Wi-Fi enabled devices in-flight, live news and political talk on FOX News Channel, MSNBC and BBC World News; live business news from CNBC, FOX Business Network and Bloomberg Television; and sports on VERSUS, to be re-branded NBC Sports Network on January 2.

Launch partners BBC World News and Bloomberg Television also underscore Row 44’s ability to deliver live streaming IPTV television programming to commercial airlines around the globe.

In addition to these launch partners, Row 44 will continue adding more innovative live video programming to its in-flight television offering.

“Row 44 is very pleased to unveil this first-of-its-kind service with such world-class launch partners as FOX News, CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg Television, BBC World News and VERSUS,” said Howard Lefkowitz, Row 44’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Whether it’s the latest news updates, sports scores or live sporting events, checking in with the financial markets, or political talk across the spectrum and around the world, Row 44’s live television service demonstrates our ongoing commitment to a broadband entertainment platform that creates an enjoyable experience for every air traveler and new incremental revenue opportunities for our airline partners. We will be continuing to add high-quality live programming worldwide. We are among the very few in-flight broadband providers that can utilize IPTV due to its significant bandwidth, but we will not only lead in this space, we will innovate with our programming.”

Row 44 customer Southwest Airlines added, “Row 44 is a great partner for Southwest, and we are excited about the live television product inclusion in the Row 44 platform,” said Dave Ridley, Southwest’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Southwest looks forward to offering this content onboard our Wi-Fi enabled aircraft later this year.”

Without much fanfare last month, Row44 and Alaska Airlines repeated connectivity history with hopes of changing your flight experience. They installed an external antenna, a satcom receiver/transmitter, and a couple of Wireless Access points (see image) and started flying their airborne Internet in an operational trial in a B737. Of course, the event we are talking about is the first US commercial airline install of some five years of work for the small California company know as Row44. Alaska Airlines saw the potential of airborne connectivity so we sought out Chase Craig who manages program development and market research for Alaska and he told IFExpress about the two week old project. The system is functioning in a low visibility mode trial prior to any go-ahead and formal project kickoff. For you bloggers and IFE junkies the operational B737 is t/n 644 and the plane is flying as-needed route applications within the Alaska system, rather than on dedicated route legs. We understand that the system is operating properly and that crews announce that fact to passengers. Alaska in accumulating operational and usage data in the process and will do so for some time.

We asked Mr. Craig about eventual pricing and he told IFExpress, “We think the existing airborne Internet pricing model is a too high and we are presently looking at a pricing model that is lower”. IFExpress thinks that the price will be in the region of $9.99 per day based on factors like the economy, not to mention that they are flying in competition with another product with a$13 price point. What would you charge?  We asked about system use: “Log on is easy”, said Chase, “We went to lengths to make our Terms of Use easy and straightforward. We don’t want to act as traffic cop to travelers who are Internet savvy but we wanted to clearly set out that Alaska desires to avoid public display of inappropriate content. “In that case, we will deny service”, he noted.

The system is capable of up to 30 Mbps but is presently throttled as a result of 802.11 B/G speeds. This should present no issues to multiple users, besides; we note that the system is scalable. Chase told us that he has used the system and is very pleased with its ease of use… not to mention the ease on fuel burn based on a system weight of less than 200 pounds. Operating at Ku Band stationary satellites, the Row44 hardware does not require a network of ground-based antennas. Not only is this a promising solution for undeveloped areas, but the obvious thought is an eventual over water solution. When the trial is complete and if Alaska chooses to equip their fleet, expect some 100 to 110 airplanes to be equipped with the Row44 hardware. We suppose that this is a good point to mention that other, bigger companies have tried and failed to deliver a satisfactory satcom-based, Ku band, airborne Internet solution. We acknowledge the Row44 accomplishment! Jolly good show!

Needless to say, the latest Wi-Fi lawsuit targeting Delta and AirCell was not lost on Alaska, “We are watching it with interest”, said Craig. We are too – Stay Tuned!

Here is a YouTube link for a short preview of the Row44/Alaska Airline Wi-Fi system in operation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5Rvl5YJG-I