May day, May day! Air-to-ground communications has just flattened out. That is, GTE Airfone Inc. is introducing flat rate pricing of $15 per call on any domestic call including voice, fax and data communications. The new plan will go into effect Wednesday.
The average length of an Airfone call is four minutes, said GTE. At the current domestic rate of $2.50 per minute airtime, 29 cents per minute toll, plus a $2.50 connection charge, the average call costs $13.66, said the company.
“The $15 flat rate per call takes out the guesswork and enables the traveling businessperson to do what they need to do without thinking the meter is running,” commented Mark Schneider, vice president of marketing for GTE Airfone.
GTE Airfone of Oak Brook, Ill., holds contracts with most U.S. airlines and a growing number of international airlines. The company leads in the air-to-ground/ground-to-air market, a global market dominated by only three players. In-Flight Phone and AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s Aviation Communications Division-known as Claircom International in Europe, Asia and the Middle East-are GTE’s formidable competitors.
GTE’s calling volume increased from 1.4 million in 1987 to 15 million in 1995, said spokeswoman Laura Littel. She said GTE’s customer base includes 1,800 aircraft installed and operating, 1,300 of which are equipped with the company’s Advanced Digital Airfone Service. The others work on analog technology. Satcom provides GTE Airfone users satellite coverage when an aircraft travels out of range of the ground network.
In addition to regular voice and fax capabilities, passengers using GTE Airfone service can conduct conference calls and access information and shopping services. Down the road, GTE plans to provide customers the ability to call between seats and call between planes.
GTE Airfone is a subsidiary of GTE Corp. and was founded 12 years ago by industry highbrow Jack Goeken. In 1990, Goeken started In-Flight Phone, which is backed by MCI Communications Corp. Goeken co-founded MCI as well.
In-Flight spokeswoman Suzanne Phillips said the company’s FlightLink product is differentiated by the variety of services offered. Passengers can access news, weather, stocks, sports scores, shop in SkyMall, access rental car services, watch VHS movies and play video games.
AT&T’s Aviation unit, which launched about three years ago, today is owned 90 percent by AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and 10 percent by Rogers Cantel Mobile Inc. According to Dave Robinson, investor relations manager at Rogers Cantel Mobile, Aviation Communications/Claircom was worth next to nothing on paper in 1995. However Todd Wolfenbarger, vice president corporate communications at AT&T Wireless Services, pointed out the company’s contracts are long-term, exclusive and fleetwide.
AT&T’s call volume has increased 800 percent since starting the service.
Domestically, AT&T’s AirOne service charges customers about $2.50 per call connection, plus $3 per minute and taxes, said AT&T. Outside the United States, calls are transmitted via satellite and cost about $5 to connect and $9 per minute airtime plus taxes. The company offer a 25 percent discount program through corporate memberships.
