Alaska Airlines plans to go wireless

Alaska Airlines is looking at the possibility of offering Wi-Fi internet access aboard all flights in the near future. The US-based regional airline is now is the testing phase of this new initiative and if everything goes according to plan, all planes operated by Alaska Airlines should have internet connectivity by spring 2008. The necessary technology is being provided by an American company, called Row 44. With this innovation, Alaska Airlines will join a rather elite handful of US carriers that also offer—or will soon be offering– internet connection on planes. The companies include both flag carriers and discount companies, such as American Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin America and Southwest. Unlike Alaska Airlines, however, both Virgin and American are using technology provided by Air Cell. JetBlue also has plans to allow passengers to use their mobiles, or Blackberry devices to send text messages during the flight. Alaska has long been a pioneer in terms of introducing new technology to the air travel experience. For example, it was one of the first airlines to use online check-in and ticket reservation.

Despite its name, Alaska Airlines is actually headquartered in Seattle, but does have a hub at Ted Stevens Airport, in Anchorage. The airline has a fleet of 116 airplanes and it flies to 59 destinations. Nearly 12 million passengers travel with Alaska Airlines each year to destinations in the United States, including Hawaii, British Columbia Canada) and Mexico. The carrier is actually one of the oldest in the United States, having been established as McGee Airways in 1932. It adopted its current name in 1944 and since then, has expanded significantly, turning into one of the largest carriers in the US.

www.alaskaair.com