As the Boeing Co.’s [BA] Connexion By Boeing venture to provide satellite-based services to airline passengers gears up for its 2001 North American rollout (SBN, May 10), executives at Airbus Industrie are moving more cautiously toward implementing space-based information services.

Though Airbus plans to provide its customers with the same applications that Boeing currently proposes, executives are further examining the market potential of Internet and multimedia applications by satellite.

“The future profitability of the Internet in the sky ultimately will be decided by what the passengers and crew really need as far as applications, and that is still being determined by the market,” said Dietrich Russel, chief operating officer of Airbus.

Russel also made his remarks May 11 at the Global Air and Space 2000 Forum and Exhibition.

Some of the applications being examined by Airbus include: incoming calls, e-mail access, live TV and credit banking for in-flight purchases.