Pilot flight for Internet on Air China_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Pilot flight for Internet on Air China

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Passengers on Chinese airlines will be able to access the Internet in the near future, industry insiders said, after the first Chinese flight offering Web service landed in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Wednesday afternoon.

"By the end of next year, most of our wide-body passenger jets will have been refitted and equipped with access to the Internet, and many of our passengers will be able to enjoy this service," Fan Cheng, a senior Air China executive, said on board the flight from Beijing to Chengdu.

Journalists and VIPs invited by the company experienced the service, which was based on satellite telecommunications technology, allowing the sending of e-mail and browsing the latest news online.

Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, sent an "extra-high altitude" micro blog post from on board the aircraft.

"Hello everyone. I am Li Jiaxiang, director of CAAC. I am using the micro blog on board an Air China jetliner, and the inflight Internet service is pretty good," Li wrote on Air China's Sina Weibo account, which showed the post was sent from an altitude of 11,460 meters.

Li also bought two iPhone cases on the online platform using his Air China membership points.

Globally, a host of big airlines, including Lufthansa, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic, have opened in-flight Internet services.

Once the service becomes available to ordinary passengers, they will be able to browse a selected set of news portals on board the company's aircraft with their laptops or tablet computers, said Zhang Yun, manager of Air China's in-flight Internet project.