Star Alliance member United Airlines has begun offering Aircell's Gogo in-flight broadband service on select flights between New York and California.

The carrier is slated to equip a total 13 Boeing 757s with the air-to-ground (ATG)-based service. These aircraft link New York JFK with Los Angeles and San Francisco.

United is also studying various connectivity solutions for overseas flights.

Another Aircell customer, Star member Air Canada, is "days or weeks" away from launching its Gogo trial on two Airbus A319s, say Aircell executives.

Fleet-wide rollout is expected to occur in 2010.

To date Aircell has secured deals with eight customers - Air Canada, AirTran Airways, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news