German airline Lufhthansa is soon to become one fo the first airlines to offer wireless internet access on intercontinental flights. The service will be called FlyNet; a service with the same name was provided by Lufthansa between 2003 and 2006 in association with Connexion by Boeing. This time however, Lufthansa is partnering with Panasonic Avionics Corporation and Deutsche Telekom to provide much better coverage than before.

The service will initially be introduced on Lufthansa's north Atlantic routes and will be available on all of its intercontintal flights by the end of 2011. Any passenger on these flights can access the internet from anywhere within the aircraft using a WiFi enabled computer or handheld device.

The service will be charged at €10.95 for an hour and €19.95 for 24 hours. Payment can be made online using credit cards or Miles & More miles. However, the service will be provided absolutely free till January 31, 2011!

Even more interestingly, from spring 2011 Lufthansa plans to introduce GSM and GPRS services that will allow passengers to use their mobile phones on board!