Wi-Fi Goes Airborne

For anyone who cringes when asked to shut down electronic devices upon take-off, the airline industry has good news for you.

According to Computer World, about one in three commercial planes flying around the country today are equipped with Wi-Fi. All these planes are operating a GoGo internet service, plus an additional six Southwest planes are using Wi-Fi from a provider called Row 44. And they’re planning to increase the fleet by hooking up all 540 Southwest planes by 2012. Lagging behind the bunch is United Airlines who only has 13 planes set up with Wi-Fi compared to Delta and American which have a combined total of 650.

Computer World says that within the next two years the entire airline industry should be hooked up with airborne Wi-Fi. The only hold up might be price. Computer World says GoGo will cost up to $13 for more than three hours of service.

There have been some reports of push back from customers already paying extra baggage fees and buying their lunch. But if you need to get some work done, or tell your Facebook friends you’re flying high, at least you now have the option.