Fly the United Friendly Skies with Wi-Fi

United, Verizon get FAA approval to install wireless Internet equipment but must await FCC awarding of contracts to service providers.

Flying the friendly skies will soon be even more entertaining as United Airlines and Verizon today announced they have become the first American companies to receive FAA approval to install cabin equipment while will enable wireless Internet access while inflight.

The companies, according to a press release, received approval only after they were able to successfully demonstrate that usage of 802.11 wireless technology did not interfere with normal airborne operations. The approval currently applies to the cabin of United’s B757-200 aircraft. It is part of a larger strategy to enable Wi-Fi on board all United airplanes.

Flyers will not be able to immediately begin whipping out their wireless laptops however. The FCC has a scheduled “Air-to-Ground” spectrum auction coming up in the next few months, at which time providers will bid for service rights and range of frequencies. United will most likely seek to contract with one of these providers once the rights have been awarded.

“Our research shows that connecting to the Internet is customers’ most preferred form of communication to the ground, and this certification is a crucial step to bring this inflight wireless access to our customers,” said Dennis Cary, United’s senior vice president-Marketing. “We are thrilled by this accomplishment and proud to lead the industry in North America with Verizon Airfone in this endeavor.”