• New York Times, Tuesday, January 12, 2010 4:03 PM

What opportunities await online marketers, publishers, and mobile carriers at 30,000 feet? Well, despite its rapid expansion, The Times argues that, "No one knows how viable the market for in-flight connectivity can be, given that many passengers, particularly younger ones, resist paying for a Wi-Fi connection." Indeed, airlines with Wi-Fi connections have been charging upwards of $13 a flight, depending on the length of the trip, to cover their costs.

Complicating matters, most airlines don't disclose the percentage of passengers who choose to pay for the service. Sources tell The Times that it has been running at 5-to-7%, and is spiking on techie-rich flights, like Virgin America's routes between San Francisco and New York. On the bright side, that translates to a market ripe for penetration. Indeed, about 700 commercial airliners are presently outfitted with Wi-Fi by Gogo -- a product of Aircell, the leading provider of airline Internet connections -- which represents about a quarter of all domestic mainline flights, excluding regional jets.

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