And the next big thing? Try surfing in the air

United Airlines Inc supplied a satellite-based air-to-ground WiFi service to an international wide-bodied aircraft in January. The airline plans to equipped 300 of its aircraft on its main routes with the satellite-based WiFi system by the end of 2013.

The Federal Communications Commission in the US also announced it was approving new rules increasing the available spectrum for air-to-ground broadband services on May 9 and the in-flight WiFi experience is expected to be improved.

There are currently two methods to supply in-flight WiFi services.

In one, special facilities are built on the ground along the flight routes, connecting air-ground broadband.

In the other, satellite communications are used for the in-flight WiFi access. The satellite-based WiFi system is the only way for flights that cross oceans.

Some Chinese carriers have already provided surfing on local area networks inside the cabins.

Air China was the first Chinese airline to test local area networks during flights. It was operating four aircraft providing local area network services by September 2012.

Hainan Airlines also runs one aircraft with a local area network. "The carrier will eventually equip the whole fleet," the company told China Daily.

Airlines cannot ignore the potential of in-flight WiFi because of its huge commercial value, analysts said.

"The airlines and third-party service providers can create various business models based on in-flight WiFi," Analysys International, a Chinese Internet research firm, said in a report.

Customers using in-flight WiFi would likely be high-end with higher spending power, the research company said.

However, there are still some factors constraining in-flight WiFi.

Commerce is a problem for the airlines because they need to invest a lot in the equipment, but currently there is no clear business model for the service.

The airlines, which provide local area network services, do not charge for it yet, but it cost about 1.9 million yuan ($309,510) to equip the aircraft with the service.

It will cost more if the airlines use satellites on their long-haul flights.

Chinese carriers have to carefully consider the price of the in-flight WiFi service. Foreign airlines price the service from about $2 to $20 according to duration.