Web surfing in the sky is poised to take off again.
Nearly two years after Boeing Co. pulled the plug on the airline industry's first attempt at connecting passengers to the Internet, airlines are trying once again to offer the ability to browse websites and e-mail during flights.
Several airlines are now planning to conduct tests of a new generation of wireless Internet equipment this summer despite facing fuel-induced financial woes, saying the fee-based service could provide much needed extra revenues.
The latest efforts would bring back Web surfing on airplanes, which continues to be one of the few places where the Internet has been kept at bay.
"We are full speed ahead," said Steve Jarvis, vice president of marketing and customer service experience for Alaska Airlines, which hopes to begin offering the service to its passengers this fall.
The fee for a wireless Internet connection is likely to be no more than $10 depending on the length of the flight, Jarvis said. Passengers would need a laptop with wireless capability to access the Internet during flight.
American Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, has been testing a system made by Aircell that provides an Internet connection through ground-based cellular towers, and is hoping to start letting some passengers test the service this summer.
Southwest Airlines Co. is looking at a system that uses satellites to connect to the Internet, and in-flight entertainment equipment makers such as Panasonic Avionics Corp. and Thales Avionics Inc., both in Orange County, have been pitching similar satellite-based systems to several airlines.
"We're seeing a lot of interest," said Chuck Albright, a product marketing manager for Panasonic Avionics, a Lake Forest-based subsidiary of the giant Japanese electronics maker. "We're hearing from the marketplace that it may be the time."
The Internet systems in the works won't include the ability to use cellphones, which are currently banned during flight because of concerns that cellular signals could interfere with the plane's electronic equipment. In addition, airlines would still have to decide whether to allow Internet-based telephone and video-conferencing.
Amy Cravens, contributing analyst for Internet research firm MultiMedia Intelligence, said several factors were helping revive airline interest in equipping planes with online capabilities.
