While competitors speed installation of onboard Wi-Fi, Continental Airlines, busy getting its merger act together with United Airlines, has postponed plans to offer Internet access in the air while it sorts things out.
Travel Weekly quotes a Continental spokesman as saying that the airline put the brakes on its Wi-Fi installations to "determine in-flight Internet connectivity solutions in the context of a merged carrier."
In January, Continental indicated that it would install Internet service from Gogo on the carrier’s 21 Boeing 757-300 aircraft beginning this summer. The service, powered by Aircell, was to be available in the lower 48 states — the continental U.S. — starting at $4.95, depending on the flight length.
Ironically, United provides Internet connectivity from the same provider on some of its international flights.
Wi-Fi is becoming a must-have in the air, particularly for business travelers, and some of Continental's competitors could benefit from this and other technology-related merger distractions.
Just wait until Continental and United get around to sorting out their disparate reservations systems.
Those decisions will make Wi-Fi considerations seems like tiny specs on a wall.