JetBlue to Test in-Flight E-Mail Service

The discount airline JetBlue said in New York Friday it would offer the first U.S. in-flight Internet service for e-mail and instant messaging.

The in-flight digital revolution begins Tuesday on a plane JetBlue has equipped with free WiFi access, enabling passengers to send e-mails and messages via their laptops or BlackBerrys.

If it works good, JetBlue founder and chairman David Neeleman told the Boston Globe, We’ll roll it out to our whole fleet.

JetBlue is first airline in this country to offer the service, but several others are waiting in the wings, some planning to go one step further and offer full Internet access in 2008. These include industry giant American Airlines, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines.

U.S. carriers, however, are lagging behind international competitors. Emirates and Virgin Atlantic already offer in-flight e-mail and instant messaging services.