Initial plans are for JetBlue to offer Internet access only on a single Airbus A320, and only to passengers using Yahoo e-mail, Yahoo instant messaging, or BlackBerry models 8820 and 8320. Due to bandwidth limitations, users will not be able to download e-mail attachments or surf the Web.

The Wi-Fi-equipped plane will be dubbed "BetaBlue," and will be used to work out the inevitable kinks in system. There is no word yet on whether BetaBlue will remain on the NY-SF loop or will be used on other routes as well.

Targeting the Millennials

According to airline expert Henry Harteveldt, who is a VP and principal analyst at Forrester Research, it's no surprise that JetBlue is taking the lead in offering Internet access, given that JetBlue was also the first to put satellite television on its flights.

Harteveldt was invited by JetBlue on a trial run of the service, and pointed out that the airline's core customer base is the so-called "millennial generation," the 18- to-40-year-olds who have embraced technology and want to be online constantly.

Access Might Be Slow

The BetaBlue's Wi-Fi service is being run by LiveTV, a unit of JetBlue that purchased a portion of the broadcast spectrum abandoned by Verizon Airfone, a venture that used to operate the ubiquitous seat-back phones. Verizon discontinued the service on commercial flights at the end of 2006.

The LiveTV system works by sending signals from an antenna on the airplane to base stations on the ground. The antenna is connected to an on-board server , which in turn reads signals from three Wi-Fi hotspots spread throughout the plane.

The distance the transmissions travel -- nearly six miles from plane to ground -- and the speed of the airplane (up to 500 mph) means that access is slow, approximately similar to dial-up service. And, it may be subject to occasional dropped signals as data transmissions are handed off from one base station to another.

Will JetBlue Capitalize?

Several other airlines, including American Airlines, Virgin America, and Alaska Airlines, are testing their own ground-to-air or satellite systems, and reports indicate that JetBlue may consider licensing its LiveTV service to competing airlines.

Most analysts see in-flight Internet as an inevitable development, and one that could generate some valuable additional revenues for the perennially cash-strapped airline industry.

If the airlines choose to charge for Internet access, Harteveldt said, his company's research shows that, "even on a flight as short as one hour, 5 percent of leisure airline passengers would be willing to pay $10 for Internet access on that flight. On a longer flight, up to four hours or more, 45 percent would pay $10 for access."

In-flight Internet access could offer airlines other benefits, as well, Harteveldt said, including justifying higher fares in general and preventing the loss of customers to other airlines.