Several US airlines including JetBlue will be testing their wi-fi services on board starting next week… great news for business travelers and internet addicts 
. Being somewhat of an internet addict, I still don’t think it’s worth it to pay for web access for shorter flights. I wish Asian airlines (specifically Korean and Cathay Pacific ), start to apply this technology in their transpacific flights. However, the technology is still fairly new and is expected to encounter challenges such as slow connections and glitches.
On Tuesday, JetBlue Airways will begin offering a free e-mail and instant messaging service on one of its planes, while American Airlines, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines plan to offer broader Web access in coming months, probably at a cost around $10 a flight.
While the technology could allow travelers to make phone calls over the Internet, most carriers say they currently have no such plans. Many travelers find the prospect of phone calls much less palatable than having a seatmate quietly browsing e-mail.
(image via ebookers.com)
Singapore airlines had internet aboard their planes till earlier this year. I find it surprising that in this day and age ,where we have internet just about everywhere, we still don’t have any decent internet services on an airplane. It will be interesting to see how this works out for Jetblue and if other airlines will finally follow suit.