NEW YORK - JetBlue Airways Corp. will start offering limited e-mail and instant messaging services for free on one of its planes next week as airlines renew efforts to offer in-flight Internet access.
General Web surfing and e-mail attachments won't be permitted because of bandwidth constraints, and services on laptops and handhelds with Wi-Fi wireless access will be limited to e-mail and messaging from Yahoo Inc.
Passengers can check other personal and work e-mail -- but only on two BlackBerry models that have Wi-Fi wireless capabilities, under a deal with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd.
AMR Corp.'s American Airlines is among the carriers planning to test broader, fee-based in-flight Internet services in coming months.
The JetBlue system is scheduled to make its debut Tuesday on Flight 641 from New York to San Francisco. The aircraft, an Airbus A320, is specially designated "BetaBlue" as it is used to test new entertainment services offered through JetBlue's subsidiary, LiveTV.
JetBlue will be using a wireless spectrum that LiveTV bought from the Federal Communications Commission last year for US$7 million. Because Internet access will use Wi-Fi and not cellular signals, the company said, it does not violate federal regulations.
Brett Muney, JetBlue's general manager for product development, said the airline received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration to use the system on A320 aircraft.
Use of laptops and BlackBerry devices will still be barred during takeoff and landing. And the cellular portion of the permitted BlackBerry devices -- the 8820 and the Curve 8320 -- must be turned off during the flight.
Glenn Fleishman, editor of the Wi-Fi Networking News site, said he knew of no commercial airline currently offering such services, though many will start debuting them next year.
Some international carriers had started offering in-flight Internet service through Boeing Co., but the aircraft maker decided about a year ago to pull the plug on its Connexion service after it failed to sign on enough airlines.
First announced in April 2000, Connexion suffered a major setback with potential U.S. airlines after the 2001 terrorist attacks triggered an industrywide downturn.
Boeing had deals with major international carriers such as Germany's Lufthansa AG, Japan Airlines Corp., Korean Air Co., and Singapore Airlines, but large U.S. carriers were reluctant to invest in the service.
The Boeing system connected to the Internet via satellites. The JetBlue system will use about 100 ground towers -- cheaper to operate, but with less capacity.
Brad Garlinghouse, Yahoo's senior vice president for communications and communities, said the company built special, lightweight versions of its services to work on JetBlue.
Chris McGinnis, editor of quarterly industry report Expedia Travel Trendwatch, said business travelers in particular would want in-flight access. He said the restriction to Yahoo e-mail could limit the system's usefulness, but passengers can always forward their corporate e-mail to a Yahoo account when traveling.
"If they can at least get access to e-mail, it would take care of a lot of the demand," he said.
