United plans Wi-Fi on some transcontinental flights

By Joe Brancatelli

CYBERTRAVELER

Slowly They Wire, Flight By Flight…United Airlines says it will offer GoGo in-flight Internet service on its two p.s. routes (New York-Los Angeles and New York-San Francisco). The Wi-Fi service will begin later this year and cost $12.95 a flight. If that sounds like good news, the truth is that the pace of Internet adoption on planes has been glacial. Despite all the hype around in-flight Internet in recent months, only about two dozen American Airlines, Delta Air Lines andVirgin America jets are currently offering Wi-Fi. While Delta claims it will have most of its domestic fleet wired this year, the airline's actual performance has lagged far behind its promises. And during a conference call with airline-industry analysts this month, American Airlines pointedly avoided saying that its current Wi-Fi test on about a dozen aircraft will be expanded any time soon. Two other airlines that have promised Internet access with another Wi-Fi provider, Alaska and Southwest, have not even begun the testing that was due to begin last year.

IN THE LOBBY

More Hotels Gush Out of the Development Pipeline: With four in ten rooms in the nation now empty on an average night, there isn't much need for new hotels. But since it takes a few years for properties to go from conception to reality, a huge number of hotels continue to gush from the development pipeline. Here what's new: A 136-room Holiday Inn has opened in Long Island City in the New York City borough of Queens. … In Manhattan, the 124-room Wyndham Garden Inn opened in the increasingly crowded Chelsea neighborhood. … Starwood has opened an Aloft property in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the 250-room Westin in Richmond, Virginia. … After 13 years of planning, false starts and controversy, the 614-room Omni Fort Worth has opened across the street from the city's convention center. … Out on the West Coast, Hyatt has opened the Andaz WestHollywood on the site of the old Hyatt on Sunset.

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