Monday, Oct 6, 2008    Text size: 

Aircell's new in-flight service called Gogo is available on a growing number of flights, including American Airlines' transcontinental flights. The service begins at $9.95 for shorter New York — Miami flights; $12.95 for flights to Los Angeles or San Francisco.

American has said that it will allow uncensored, nonfiltered access to the web. American spokesman Tim Smith said. “We always hope our customers will use good judgment on what they view while on board our aircraft, and the vast majority do just that.”

Not everyone agrees on unfettered Internet access, and specifically adult content while flying. According to The Catholic News Agency, Girls Against Porn has sent a letter to American requesting that the airline "filter pornographic sites from its in-flight Internet service." The letter notes a $200,000 lawsuit filed against American Airlines by a passenger. The flier alleged she woke up to "find a substance in her hair from another passenger who was engaged in self-abuse."

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants also has voiced support for in-flight Internet filters, saying flight attendants do not want to be “moral police.”

Delta Air Lines is scheduled to filter its wi-fi when it launches later this year. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reportsthat "Delta plans to block inappropriate websites from its in-flight wi-fi service." Exactly how — and what — the airline plans to block remains unclear.

United Airlines is currently waiting out the filter-or-no-filter debate. It has previously mentioned that it would offer cached and edited versions of controversial sites.

Gogo is not without its limitations. The system is ground-based, meaning that it is viable only within about 250 miles of the coast. Additionally, working with the airlines, Gogo has attempted to block access to VOIP services like Skype and Yahoo Voice, with little success.

Air Canada and Virgin America are slotted to join Delta and American in offering in-flight Internet access within the year. Alaska Airlines and Southwest, have previously said that they would test broadband service on their planes. JetBlue's subsidiary, LiveTV has been tested but no release date has been mentioned.