SmallBizResource Blog -- Mobility

Delta Readies In-Flight Wi-Fi

Posted by Gayle Kesten Tuesday, Aug 5, 2008, 04:57 PM ET

The latest offering an airline wants to charge you for is, surprisingly enough, good news.

Well, good news if you want to work while 40,000 feet high. Bad news if flight time gave you a few guilt-free hours to kick back and close your eyes. The word is out that Delta Air Lines is revving up to offer passengers Wi-Fi on all of its domestic flights, beginning with its fleet of 133 MD88/90 aircraft, then expanding to Boeing planes. Installation will begin this year and is slated to be complete by next summer.

According to ChannelWeb: "The number three airline in the country is pairing with Aircell, an airborne communications provider, to provide uptime connectivity across its entire 330 aircraft fleet with a service called Gogo...Gogo from Aircell, in essence, turns the entire craft into a wireless hotspot. The hardware to get broadband capabilities up and running can be installed into an airplane during an overnight stay."

The service will support connection of any Wi-Fi device, such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs. Pricewise, expect two flat fees: $9.95 for flights less than three hours, and $12.95 otherwise, though, as Ars Technica points out, Delta didn't say "what would happen if a shorter flight stretches out past the three-hour limit while stuck in a holding pattern."

It's likely to confront that issue soon enough: According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Delta had 22 flights where passengers waited to take off for four hours or longer in the year through May, the highest number of any U.S. airline.

Let's just hope the airline powers that be don't figure out a way to charge us for doing business on the tarmac.

What do you think? Would you prefer to use your time in-flight to work, or have you lost your last excuse for a little downtime?

Mobility | Productivity | SmallBizResource