http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080805/ap_on_hi_te/delta_wi_fi

Quote :

"Delta to offer Wi-Fi on mainline domestic fleet By HARRY R. WEBER, AP Business Writer 21 minutes ago ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines Inc. said Tuesday it will offer broadband wireless Internet access on its entire domestic mainline fleet by the middle of next year. Several other airlines either offer similar service or plan to, though on a much more limited number of flights. Atlanta-based Delta said Wi-Fi service will be offered for a fee to customers traveling throughout the continental U.S. The nation's No. 3 carrier is partnering with Aircell, an airborne communications provider, to install the network on Delta's domestic fleet of more than 330 aircraft. The system will allow Delta customers traveling with Wi-Fi enabled devices — such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs — to access the Internet while in flight. A flat fee of $9.95 will be charged on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours. The service will be offered initially on Delta's fleet of 133 MD88/90 aircraft and will expand to the remaining domestic fleet of more than 200 Boeing 737, 757 and 767-300 aircraft during the first half of 2009. It expects to have the technology installed on its entire domestic fleet by next summer. Financial terms of Delta's agreement with Aircell were not released. The airline did not say how much it expects to generate in revenue by offering the service on its mainline domestic flights. Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said the airline is considering options for its international fleet and for aircraft used by its regional flying partners, but has no current plans to offer Wi-Fi service on those flights. American Airlines, a unit of Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp., will offer the same Wi-Fi service as Delta through Aircell later this year on 15 of its 767-200 aircraft, which generally fly transcontinental routes, spokeswoman September Wade said, adding that American announced its plan more than a year ago."

8/5/2008 12:33:43 PM

reasonable price too. gg Delta.

8/5/2008 12:42:09 PM

people on flights that last 3 hours and 2 minutes are gonna be pissed

8/5/2008 12:52:42 PM

well you got to put the laptop away anyway before landing

8/5/2008 12:54:02 PM

Do they also have places to plug in your laptop?

8/5/2008 2:10:51 PM

haha...what is this, like 5-6 years behind Lufthansa?

8/5/2008 2:22:36 PM

I wonder how many seconds it will take them to block skype?

8/5/2008 3:39:48 PM

Completely new technology from what Lufthansa used. What Lufthansa and a small handful of airlines used was a satellite-based system built by Boeing called Connexion. Originally, domestic airlines were on board as launch customers, however, its release date happen to occur right after 9/11, so many of the domestic airlines backed out last minute because of the cost of installing the necessary hardware. When Boeing couldn't gather the needed customers to break even, they pulled the plug in 2006. It was a good technology that was just ahead of its time.

Now that the market has settled a bit, a lot of these new providers like Aircell have stepped into place. They're using new technology; I don't believe they're satellite based but are instead using ground-based cellular transmitters instead.

Quote :

"Do they also have places to plug in your laptop?"

That's between you and the airline, not the Wi-Fi providers. From what I gather, only first class passengers have it for now. Given the current cost savings that airlines are aggressively pushing, I'm skeptical that they're willing to deal with the additional weight required to install outlets. Remember, airlines are literally trying to weight wherever they can with even one hundred pounds at this point being a big accomplishment...

8/5/2008 3:40:34 PM

How can they NOT be using satellites? On an international flight, can they stay connected to ground based communication systems?

8/5/2008 7:00:56 PM

Over land you can rely on direction antennas and vertically transmitting stations. Over the ocean you need satellites due to line of site issues.

8/5/2008 7:08:47 PM

this sucks, i was looking forward to browsing the internet while flying.

8/6/2008 12:15:51 AM

lol line of site

8/6/2008 12:35:01 AM

Yeah, had they used satellites versus land connections I would have been all about it.

Would have loved using the net while flying to Mannheim.

8/7/2008 2:29:06 PM

I really hope they offer the ability to prepurchase and it can be rolled into the flight cost but I imagine that won't happen due to a few logistical issues

I imagine this will by and large be used solely by business travelers that can expense the cost and pass it onto their clients because they are "working" on the plane

8/7/2008 4:14:46 PM

bump

11/8/2010 2:23:24 PM

I have been fully appreciating in-flight Wi-Fi ... Thanks Google for making it free for the holidays!

http://www.freeholidaywifi.com/

Quote :

"Passengers enjoy free Wi-Fi for the holidays November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011 This holiday season, Google Chrome has teamed up with AirTran Airways, Delta, and Virgin America to offer free Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi on every domestic flight from November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011. These participating airlines have outfitted their entire domestic fleet with Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi, and we expect more connected passengers this holiday season than ever before! Just bring a Wi-Fi enabled laptop or mobile device and stay connected to family and friends while you travel. If you haven’t tried Chrome yet, you can download Chrome before you take to the skies. Happy Holidays!"

They did this last year, too, but only for Virgin ... this year I can take advantage of it.

11/8/2010 2:28:41 PM

^I like the idea but what if you are using IE or Firefox? Does that recognize a different browser and just say you can't connect? What about smartphones?

11/8/2010 9:19:39 PM

You may have just inspired an Engadget post /http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/08/passengers-net-free-wifi-while-flying-delta-airtran-or-virgin-a/

11/8/2010 9:32:14 PM

Sweeeet

11/8/2010 10:42:14 PM