United Airlines to Outline Plan To Bring Wi-Fi to Its Planes

"United Airlines today is expected to outline a plan to start equipping its aircraft with wireless Internet access.
Under the proposal, high-speed Wi-Fi connections would start becoming available on United planes next year, allowing travelers with Wi-Fi-equipped laptop computers to access the Internet from cruising altitude.
Last Tuesday, UAL Corp.'s United and Verizon Communications Inc.'s Verizon Airfone demonstrated that they could send wireless data from the air to the ground without disrupting the plane's navigational tools. On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration gave them its approval to start installing the deactivated cabin equipment to get the system off the ground."

[WSJ.com]