Surfing above the clouds

Updating your Twitter feeds. Catching up on work. Submitting complaints to airline websites. All this and more shall soon be yours at cruising altitude.

This summer AA is testing Gogo, a new in-flight wifi service.

Well, it's about time airlines caught up with the hotels and cafes in providing internet access. All that's left is overpriced food and rude neighbors. Wait ...

Some of you will rejoice, others will cringe, and the real pessimists among you (read: realists) will see onboard web surfing as the harbinger of mobile phone chatter. You thought the in-flight movies were bad? Wait till you get six hours of, "I miss you, too! ... No, I miss you more!"

Me? As always, I just have a few questions:

- Will the airlines leave the wi-fi running while you're stuck on the tarmac? Let's hope so ... I can just imagine real-time updates to TravelHell. Maybe forum members will get to know one another as they find themselves ranting on the same flight.

- Should we expect to see more airplane-themed YouTube videos? I can see it now: Flight Attendant Nails Passenger With Food Cart. -or even, Overhead Space Brawl.

- Speaking of videos, how soon till the airlines filter the internet traffic? Because we all know some wanker will forget he's in a public place and ... ahem ... use the internet for more personal motives.

- Most of all, will there be enough outlets? The AllThingsD article says the initial Gogo flights will be AA 767s. SeatGuru says that's 32 or 36 outlets in coach, depending on the configuration.

Answers, maybe, over the coming months.