It really isn’t the flying itself we’re afraid of—it’s the prospect of being without our nurturing tether to the internet that makes us all nervous and agitated. Which is why we’re filled with heady anticipation at the news that United Airlines is planning to become the first domestic carrier to offer WiFi access on all of its flights (assuming that they don’t go out of business first, that is). It’ll still be a while before you’ll actually be able to get online (they’re aiming to have this rolled out by the end of next year), but they’ve gotten the proper FAA approval to start installing and testing the equipment, and now all they need is for the FCC to auction off the necessary bandwidth. They haven’t announced what they’re planning to charge for in-flight access, but other airlines that offer in-flight WiFi, like Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, and Japan Airlines, usually charge about thirty bucks a flight to get your WiFi on.
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Source:
Engadget
Jun 6, 2005, 08:05 PM
