Where it may not be so successful is in hoping that local phone operators will be ready to deliver the service. Some phone companies are having difficulty delivering broadband services, so they may not be ready for the challenge of understanding family behaviour. The web takes off Boeing are not known for hosting multimedia portal sites. But with their experience of running an intranet supporting 200,000 employees, together with a carefully positioned satellite or two, they will be able to offer airlines the chance to provide web access through a local network on the plane. You simply plug your laptop's ethernet connection into a socket at your seat.
Passengers can even start re-arranging their next flight if they are delayed.
The system should be available in the US in 2002, Europe in 2003 and globally in 2005. Thirty airlines are already in discussion with the firm.