Boeing, the troubled US plane-maker, is stealing a march on its European rival, Airbus, by seizing control of a market worth up to $2bn (£1.1bn) a year in ten years: broadband in the skies.
Today an Airbus A340, flying from Munich to Los Angeles on flight LH452, will allow passengers to connect their lap-tops or mobiles to wireless broadband at 35,000ft.
The connection to the web, enabling passengers to send emails and link up with their company's intranet, is provided by Boeing via a series of satellites.
Scott Carson, president of Connexion by Boeing, says 50 aircraft will offer internet access by the end of this year and 150 by the end of 2005. Lufthansa is offering a flat rate of $29.95 for an entire flight, including access to its free FlyNet portal giving news, weather and travel information.
The German carrier, which has installed FlyNet on five A340s and plans to equip its entire long-haul fleet of 80 Airbus and Boeing jets by the spring of 2006, is one of four airlines to sign up to Boeing which has lost its traditional dominance in plane sales to its European rival.
Mr Carson, who has signed deals with SAS, JAL and All Nippon Airways, said he was in talks with Singapore Airlines, China Airlines and British Airways to offer the same service.
Three US carriers were about to sign up until the September 2001 terrorist attacks sent the American aviation industry into a decline but Mr Carson says one US customer should emerge by the end of the year.
BA, which concluded a commercial service trial a year ago, is in protracted talks with Boeing which says the new service reduces the weight and number of wires in the traditional cabin, cutting fuel consumption.
Mr Carson says the service is targeted at the male executive aged under 54 and earning more than $150,000 a year, with 62% of business travellers saying they are very interested in broadband in-flight access.
The cost of the basic three-hour connection should be $14.95, though Lufthansa is offering 30 minutes at $9.95, charging 25 cents a minute thereafter.
Mr Carson, who has easily outdistanced Airbus, whose own offering lags far behind, says the service will later this year offer "live" rebroadcast TV. He says it will also be extended to ships from mid-2005 while airline crews will control flight operations better, including security.
