American Begins Internet Service on Flights

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American Airlines began offering Internet access on long-haul
domestic flights on Wednesday, making American the first U.S. airline
to offer full in-flight broadband.

The world’s largest airline said its passengers on Boeing 767-200
aircraft can pay $12.95 for Internet access on nonstop flights between
New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and
Miami.

Airlines have been racing to get reliable Internet access on their
flights in hopes of gaining a competitive edge in the troubled airline
industry. Other carriers like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways
have made strides in that direction.

Delta Air Lines said this month it soon will start rolling out
broadband Wi-Fi access for its entire domestic mainline fleet of more
than 330 planes.

Experts have said they expect in-flight Internet to become common in the industry.

American’s mobile broadband service, which is called Gogo, is
provided by AirCell. Each Gogo session includes full Internet access.
Cell phone and Voice over Internet Protocol are not available.

 

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