laptopseat_08-6-08-thumb-300x225I am kind of getting tired of all the extra fees making the news now-a-days. But this fee, I wouldn’t mind paying (I am guess it won’t be free). Quite a few airlines in the next year are going to be offering passengers different levels of internet access. I know I would love to have the ability to surf the web and kill a few hours while flying. Below is a list taken right from the Washington Post of what airlines are planning to do:

Delta: Plans Internet service on its entire fleet of 330 domestic aircraft by summer 2009, starting with 75 by the end of the year.

Northwest: Delta, which is buying Northwest, said it will equip Northwest planes with Internet service after the merger is approved.

American: Placing 15 jets in a three- to-six-month Internet service trial program. No launch date yet, but “dress rehearsals” were conducted on two flights in June.

JetBlue: Offered WiFi on one A320 in December. It allows e-mail, messaging and shopping on Amazon.com, but not Web surfing.

Southwest and Alaska Airlines: Testing a system that relies on satellites rather than cellphone towers. No date given for start of service.

Virgin America: The airline expects to begin testing Aircell Internet service in the fall and roll it out on its entire fleet by end of the first quarter, 2009.

Continental: Announced in January that it planned to offer onboard WiFi access using a satellite-based service starting in 2009, but the airline says it is still testing, which could push back the start date.

Source: WashingtonPost Image: neb_boy

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & FOUNDER - SEATTLE, WA. David has written, consulted, and presented on multiple topics relating to airlines and travel since 2008. He has been quoted and written for a number of news organizations, including BBC, CNN, NBC News, Bloomberg, and others. He is passionate about sharing the complexities, the benefits, and the fun stuff of the airline business. Email me: david@airlinereporter.com

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