Patent ID: 8055704

Claim:
A method that provides Internet Protocol (IP) devices of passengers of an in-flight airplane with terrestrial Internet IP communications comprising the steps of: identifying a first airplane in a group of at least two in-flight airplanes as a ground link airplane, where each airplane in the group is traveling in a substantially linear direction, the ground link airplane having a first two-way radio frequency communication link with a ground station located on the earth; maintaining for each airplane in the group a second and third two-way radio frequency communication link with an adjacent fore and aft airplane in the group, respectively, if such an adjacent airplane exists, where the second and third two-way radio frequency communication links support inter-airplane IP communications via unidirectional fore and all radio frequency radiation patterns centered about the substantially linear direction; transferring IP-based information of the IP devices of the passengers on each in-flight airplane in the group using the second and third two-way radio frequency communication links by daisy chain transfer through each adjacent airplane to the ground link airplane; transferring, by the ground link airplane, the IP-based information of the IP devices of the passengers to the ground station via the first two-way radio frequency communication link, where the ground station is connected to the terrestrial Internet and couples the IP-based information to the terrestrial internet.