Delta announced yesterday that it would begin offering wireless Internet service — for a fee — on its domestic flights this fall. The airline expects to outfit 330 planes by next summer, making it the first major U.S. carrier to offer Wi-Fi on its entire domestic fleet (not including regional subsidiaries such as its Comair service).

Delta will use Aircell's Gogo service. The service will cost a flat fee of $9.95 for flights three hours or less and $12.95 for flights more than three hours. Delta will offer it first on its MD88 and MD90 planes and expand to its Boeing 737s, 757s and 767s by the summer of 2009, the company said.

American Airlines has been testing Gogo and plans to offer it on selected flights. Virgin America also will be offering the service, according to Aircell.

Gogo says it turns the plane's cabin into a Wi-Fi hot spot, allowing laptops, smart phones and PDAs to access the Internet.

Aircell said everyone on a flight can log on to Gogo, with the system prioritizing the Web traffic to keep the data flowing. It can accommodate streaming audio and video but will not support Skype or other voice-over-Internet services.

Houston-based Continental said on Jan. 29 that it will be introducing onboard Wi-Fi services — provided in partnership with LiveTV LLC — including e-mail and instant messaging connectivity on flights operating within the continental U.S. at the beginning of next year.