MySkyStatus, a system developed by Lufthansa to allow passengers to send status updates to their social networks in-flight, has doubled the number of messages sent out in the space of a month.
The airline launched the system in October 2009 and in mid-January had pushed out around 17,000 tweets from passengers – a figure which has risen dramatically to over 36,000 within the space of four weeks.
Lufthansa says it will be launching a new version of the product in the coming months with a number of new features, including the ability to send pre-written emails through the system.
MySkyStatus works by connecting to a passenger’s Twitter account and allowing them to place a standard message in a store, released only when the aircraft is in the air and at a specified time.
The system also tracks flight details and data from every airline in the world in order to establish when a passenger is off-line.
Lufthansa has opened the system to passengers on any airline but admits a good proportion is currently coming from its own customers.
I’ve tried it a couple of times (it’s a bit of fun) but it seems a little flaky – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to rely on it as a means of keeping colleagues/family updated on your progress.