While carriers in the U.S. have been talking about the prospect of in-flight web surfing on domestic flights for a few years, those promises have remained as empty as their commitments to on-time service.

Now, however, it looks as though our days of being sealed into airborne vaults—disconnected, inaccessible and unaccountable—really are numbered. As carriers pour many more millions into in-flight entertainment systems, as was clear recently at Toronto's World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference, U.S. airlines are embracing new air-to-ground and satellite systems to offer wi-fi service on commercial flights as early as next spring. So far this year, the FAA has already received 42 applications to install the systems on new aircraft, as many as during all of last year.

A hot spot in the air is like any on the ground. Passengers will log in on their laptops (or on IFEs) through the AirCell splash screen. Pricing hasn't been finalized but the company says that travelers will pay about $10 per flight segment or per day by credit card. Those who have memberships with wi-fi aggregators, such as Boingo or TMobile, might pay a supplemental fee. Since AirCell operates the system and maintains the network, it will give each carrier a cut of the revenue, which makes for an attractive business model on the part of the airline. "We see interest being staggeringly high," says Blumenstein. "I would have said if 10% [of passengers] who have these devices use it, we would be very pleased. But the returns from the market research are orders of 2 to 3 times that."

Theoretically, Wi-Fi in the sky could provide an end-run around the restrictions on in-flight cell phone service. Systems providers say wi-fi-enabled devices, like a Skype VoIP handset, will work for calls but add that it really comes down to what passengers and airlines want. Carriers, for instance, will have the option of shutting off voice traffic. Laura Tolar, an American Airlines communications manager, says that voice capacity is not something that the carrier is considering. "Our customers don't want voice at this point—they don't want the noise in the aircraft." Gregg Fialcowitz, president of Row 44, agrees: "A number of carriers are very leery of having voice on the plane. They're worried about the environmental impact and I'm not convinced that even if regulatory restrictions are relaxed that airlines will adopt it very quickly."

Panasonic's Bruner, a former COO of AT&T's wireless aviation division, says that while many passengers may want voice "they don't want to do it all the time. Economics alone will keep people from yakking away in-flight." The tapping away, by contrast, is just getting started.

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IPB Image News source: Time Magazine