Fledgling provider of in-flight high-speed data services Connexion by Boeing said last week it increased its air routes to 10 from 6 since the service was launched earlier this year. Likewise, company officials offered some clues as to how it plans to enhance its service in the coming year.

Leading the way in terms of routes is German national carrier Lufthansa, which has planes on five routes outfitted with Connexion by Boeing equipment and two of the four new routes being added by Dec. 14 will be Lufthansa’s. Five of the seven Luft-hansa flights equipped with in-flight broadband include U.S. destinations from Munich to San Francisco, Miami, Denver, Los Angeles and Charlotte, North Carolina. Lufthansa will outfit its entire long-haul fleet with the high-speed equipment. Connectivity for the in-flight data connection comes from Inmarsat.

Other airlines offering routes by the end of the year include one new route for Japan Airlines, selected routes for SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) and ANA (All Nippon Airways) already offers service on its Tokyo-to-Shanghai route.

In addition to these new routes, Connexion by Boeing said it signed more than 160 agreements with individual companies to provide their traveling employees with high-speed Internet connectivity when they are traveling on flights with Connexion by Boeing equipment installed. The company said Siemens was the first organization to sign on with Connexion by Boeing to offer its 20,000 traveling employees data connectivity in the air.

Connexion by Boeing also said it has roaming agreements in place with a variety of companies, including iPass Inc., InfoNet, NTT DoCoMo Inc., T-Systems, StarHub, NTT Communi- cations and Singtel. These roaming agreements allow passengers to log onto the service using their existing login and password without having to order connection services from a different provider.

“While 2004 marked the successful launch of our commercial global service, we look forward to continuing the evolution of our service offerings in 2005 and beyond,” Connexion by Boeing Vice President of commercial airline business Stan Deal said in a prepared statement. “For example, passengers can expect to see the rollout of new offerings, such as TV and enhanced support for a broad array of services in an effort to enhance their in-flight experience.”

Vodafone Trials

In a separate development, Connex-ion by Boeing said it will jointly trial the delivery of high-speed in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity to airline passengers. According to company statements, Vodafone will be the first global mobile telecommunications operator to undergo trials with Connexion by Boeing. Vodafone is seeking to extend its laptop data mobility service to passengers while they are in flight.

The trial is scheduled to start this month and will test the Vodafone customer experience with the Connextion by Boeing service, which operates similarly to the Wi-Fi experience on the ground. Assuming all goes well with the trials, Vodafone said it plans to enter into a full-time agreement with Connexion by Boeing, allowing Vodafone customers to connect to the in-flight service and have their sessions billed to their Vodafone account. The Vodafone service would launch first on Lufthansa flights coming in and out of Europe.

(Cathy Rudolph, Connexion by Boeing, 206/655-5037; Jon Earl, Vodafone, +44 (0) 1635 673310)