wifi

A recent report from Computerworld indicates that Wi-Fi Internet capability is now available on one of every three domestic planes.

According to the numbers provided by Aircell, the in-flight service provider for a majority of U.S. carriers, the company’s 968 Gogo-enabled aircraft are roughly one-third of the estimated 2,800 U.S. planes operating today.

So who are the big carrier winners and losers? Virgin America and AirTran offer on-board Wi-Fi for every single flight in their fleets, with access prices ranging from $4.95 to $12.95.  According to a report by The New York Times, Delta wins out on having the largest Wi-Fi equipped fleet, with nearly all of its 500 planes offering Gogo-based Internet access.

Continental Airlines and JetBlue are in the process of “testing” Wi-Fi for their respective planes, while all the other carriers’ fleets have partial Wi-Fi availability.

Here’s some more travel news you can use:

  • Air Pacific is conducting a “Kids Fly Free to Fiji” offer which includes free airfare for one child under 12 who flies with an adult from Los Angeles to Fiji. Flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Fiji’s Nadi International Airport (NAN)  operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.  It’s good for travel from Aug. 1 through Dec. 14 and also Jan. 16 through Feb. 28. You must reserve by 5 p.m. PDT Sept. 30th.
  • Delta Air Lines has initiated a nationwide airfare sale thru July 29th — an extremely rate occurrence.  The round-trip rates aren’t jaw-dropping, but the list of destinations include a few in Canada, a couple in Alaska and contiguous states rarely discounted.  For a sample of the sale destinations, click here.
  • Hotwire.com recently released a report on the top 10 cities in North America where hotel rates have dropped the most.  Tulsa, OK;   Princeton, NJ; and Omaha, NE took the top three spots with eleven, nine and seven percent drops, respectively.  For the complete list, click here.