Boeing Boeing...Gone

Is it a case of don’t trust the early adopters? Boeing’s Connexion “broadband in the sky” service received rave reviews from most of the early adopters who wrote long paeans about the service, and how they could Skype and work in the sky.

The mass market thought otherwise. Boeing today decided to shut down the service and is taking a $320 million charge, as it writes down the assets and pays termination fees to the customers. All Nippon Airlines, Japan Airlines, SAS, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa are three airlines with live Connexions. This should not come as a surprise, since the company has been shopping the service for a while. The decision is also bad news for Colubris Networks, one of the key equipment providers to Boeing.