American Airlines to Bring U.S. Wi-Fi in 2008

Whoa! Wasn't I just bemoaning the fact that us Americans have been ignored in the quest for airborne Wi-Fi while the rest of the world is slurping at the wireless trough? Well, out of nowhere, here comes this announcement that American Airlines will be launching broadband in the sky starting in 2008. The FCC opened the door for domestic Wi-Fi earlier this year.

Details are slim so far. The service will begin with Boeing 767s in American's fleet, primarily those flying transcontinental, long-haul routes. 802.11a, b, and g (but not n) connections will be supported, and it will be device agnostic: Laptops, smart phones, iPhones, PDAs, and even game devices will be able to use the network. There's no information on how quickly the service might roll out to other planes, shorter flights, or how much it will cost. A specific start date isn't mentioned either, but let's hope it's early in 2008, and not "holiday" 2008.

The rest of the press release, linked above, is filled with nothing but feel-good quotes and clueless banter about how you can use Wi-Fi. That's all fine by me: Just bring on the wireless, baby! (And if the SFO-dominating United could follow suit, that'd be swell, too.)

More details as they emerge. Stay tuned!

LINK: American Airlines Selects AirCell to Launch In-Flight Wi-Fi Service Over U.S.