Lufthansa is reviving its onboard FlyNet Internet offering.

The airline signed up as launch customer for Panasonic Avionics eXConnect broadband service. The deal was formally signed today in Frankfurt by Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber and Panasonic Avionics CEO Paul Margis. Financial details will not be disclosed.

The airline will offer broadband access to the Internet from laptops. Passengers can also send SMS or use their BlackBerry PDAs, but they won't be able to make voice calls or watch live TV, although both would be technically feasible. But Mayrhuber says, "We want the cabin to remain quiet," thus the airline remains opposed to allowing the use of cell phones on board. Mayrhuber did not rule out that Lufthansa might go for live TV longer term, but that's not on the agenda for some years.

A total of 50 aircraft will receive the necessary hardware next year, with the first unit to become available around the beginning of the second half. Lufthansa operates about 100 aircraft on long-haul routes, but has no plans to introduce the service or parts of it on its narrowbody and regional fleet.

Lufthansa did not disclose what it will charge its customers for the service other than saying several pricing models are possible from hourly rates to monthly fees. Passengers will also be allowed to use their frequent flyer miles to pay for Internet access.

The Panasonic deal is the airline's second try for Internet on board. In 2003, it started the Connexion by Boeing service, but that was discontinued by the end of 2006 when Boeing shut it down for financial reasons. Lufthansa has since been evaluating how to restart the offering, which had enjoyed growing customer acceptance.

Sixty-nine of Lufthansa's widebody aircraft already have an additional antenna installed, a vestige of its temporary Connexxion by Boeing service. Those devices will be reused for the time being, but aircraft without the old hardware will receive upgraded antennas. Over time, the old hardware will be replaced on all aircraft.

Margis says Panasonic Avionics will be able to offer the service at much lower cost than Boeing due to the latest modem technology that allows it to use only part of a transponder's capacity. "We don't want to have an independent eco-system for aviation alone," he says. According to Margis, Panasonic is talking to other "airline potentials" about the eXConnect service, but he declined to identify them.

Photo credit: Lufthansa