United Becomes First International US-Based Airline With Wi-Fi

This week the folks at United Aircraft have let it be known that they'll be bringing wi-fi connectivity to their planes, this making them the first US-based international carrier to offer said connections while traveling over the ocean. Jim Compton, Vice Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer for United, spoke up about the service, noting that this is part of their efforts to make the airline the top choice for international flight – "With this new service, we continue to build the airline that customers want to fly."

This service will be working with your wireless device galore, including but not limited to your laptop, smartphone, and tablet. You'll be able to get internet on the flight starting at $3.99 ranging all the way up to $19.99 depending on the service you'd like to work with. Standard prices range from $3.99 to $14.99 depending on how far you'll be flying – that including basic speeds (the exact internet speed not being shared at the moment by United).

If you're working with Accelerated internet, you'll be paying between $5.99 and $19.99 USD – these prices also based on the length of flight you'll be taking. The hardware being installed to make this all a reality is none other than Panasonic Avionics Corporation's Ku-band satellite technology – this is different from air-to-ground technology being used by many national companies today.

The roll-out of this tech for you and I will be starting with two Airbus 319 aircraft right here at the start of 2013 with connectivity hitting 300 mainline aircraft by the end of this year – that's a whole lot of connectivity! You'll be able to work with this tech on Airbus 319 and 320 aircraft for starters as well as Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 sooner than later!