“Delta, which is based in Atlanta, said it would sell Wi-Fi service to customers traveling throughout the continental United States. The carrier is working with Aircell, an airborne communications provider, to install the network on Delta’s domestic fleet of more than 330 aircraft.”  – New York Times

It’s not free though; this service is going to cost almost $10 for flights three hours long or less, and about $13 on longer flights.

Continental Airlines announced it was going to introduce WiFi features like instant messaging and e-mail on flights opperating in the continental US on January 29th.

To me, this is awesome.  I love to fly, but sometimes those long, cross country flights can be boring.  If you’re like me, you tend to keep in touch with family and friends at home when you’re away through the internet.  For people like me, this will be a wonderful feature.  I’m not to thrilled with the price on shorter flights, but regaurdless, this will be a wonderful feature for travelers.

I’m hoping this will open the door to new technologies that allow us to use more WiFi capable gadgets like the PSP, and possibly cellular gadgets as well.  Who wouldn’t enjoy a good game with a friend on a flight?  Right now, for most airlines, cellular and wifi capable devices are disallowed while airborn which can be a bummer at times for us techies.

All in all, because this is a new feature, there is bound to be some flaws – but as technology quickly progresses, I’m sure they’d be fixed quickly.  I can’t wait until I get to fly and IM my friends and family at the same time.  I’m really happy about this feature.

What Do You Think?
Have you already flown and used the WiFi services provided by an airline?  Do you think this is a great feature for major airlines to take hold of?  Know of any other tech related news or service?  Whatever the case may be, I want to know about it!  So be sure and send your information to david@funkytower.com :)

Take it easy,
David Crandall