How would you like to surf the Internet wirelessly and talk on the phone from takeoff to landing? You might get that change soon if you're flying Southeast Airlines - the small charter carrier has a deal with SkyWay Communications to offer free Wi-Fi Internet and phone calls as low as 50 cents a minute for passenger flights. But there's one catch: you'll have to put up with a little advertising in return.
"We would take over the audio and video right on the aircraft, and sell advertising on the plane," said SkyWay vice president of sales and advertising David Huy to Wired. "It would be both pop-ups and banner ads for the Internet access, and then we'll have advertisements with the usual sitcoms and whatnot on those drop-down TV monitors."
Huy said SkyWay and Southeast will share the ad revenues, though he didn't disclose just what the actual split would be. Wired also says the deal still needs federal regulatory approval, but it would make Southeast the first airline in the U.S. offering wireless Net and cheap phone calls through seatback telephones.
Both United Airlines and Continental Airlines now offer in-flight Internet by dialup at $16 per flight, via Verizon's seatback Airfone connections, Wired said. None of the major U.S. airlines has yet offered plans for faster wireless service because the Federal Aviation Administration hasn't yet approved the idea, the magazine added.
