For Brad Townsend having the opportunity to participate in a demo flight showcasing the newly launched Gogo Biz 4G service this past October had been long awaited. Townsend, now a director of maintenance for a corporate flight department at a Fortune 50 company, has seen and experienced firsthand the evolution of airborne connectivity technology throughout his career working for various corporate flight departments.
“For a long time, communication technology on the aircraft was archaic and unreliable, compared to what was happening with communication advancements on the ground,” says Townsend.
“But, with the latest advancements in broadband connectivity solutions coming from Gogo Business Aviation, and the promise of Gogo Biz 4G for business aviation, I feel that we are finally catching up to where we need to be today with airborne communications.”
Townsend was one of eight passengers that boarded the Gogo Biz 4G demo flight in Las Vegas at NBAA. As a long-standing customer of Gogo’s from its early days when it was known as Aircell, and now as a current member of the Gogo Customer Advisory Board, Townsend didnt’ think he would be disappointed – but, he was anxious to put the new service and system to the test and finally realize its capabilities in flight.
Once the aircraft reached the 10,000 foot altitude threshold, Townsend and the other passengers onboard all connected to Gogo’s onboard Wi-Fi and were putting the new 4G service to work – sending emails, connecting to corporate VPNs, and streaming audio and video content. Dave Salvador, Gogo’s vice president of aftermarket sales who was also on the flight, asked Townsend specifically what he thought of the experience. Townsend’s response: “We’re here.”
According to Townsend, that’s all that needed to be said – two simple words stating that the service was working as we (he) had imagined. “Finally, the promise for increased performance and improved functionality in communications on the aircraft was real.”
Townsend’s future plans include installing the Gogo AVANCE L5 system on all four of the corporate aircraft he currently manages – as STCs become available for the different aircraft types. He and his crew plan to leverage the increased capabilities of the new system, such as: LAN/WAN management, CMS control and the media features in flight. In short, everything the passengers will enjoy and his crew can benefit from – which includes the enhanced service and support capabilities provided by the Gogo DASH mobile app.
“With Gogo Biz 4G service now a reality, I’m excited to imagine the possibilities in leveraging the communication capabilities on the aircraft. The services I now can promote internally to the corporate leadership are great – and, with the global broadband connectivity solutions being provided by Gogo today and in the future, how we conduct business from the sky will just keep getting better and become more efficient.”
