Virgin America plans to become the latest airline to offer in-flight Wi-Fi Internet, a service with a problematic past that still promises far-ranging flexibility in entertainment. The company announced its plans on Monday. The San Francisco-based carrier has scheduled the service for one Airbus A320 aircraft, joining American Airlines as the only carriers in the world to offer full Internet access. The service is code-named Gogo and it allows passengers to browse the Web, use e-mail, instant messaging, download video and connect to secure networks through three wireless access points on the plane. However, voice calls over the Internet are not allowed. The cost is $9, 95 to $12, 95 a flight, depending on the route’s length.

If the test proves successful, the company will expand this service to 24 other planes in its fleet by mid-2009. It seems that in-flight Internet is making a serious comeback after a two-year period of dormancy. The previous generation of in-flight Wi-Fi was offered by Boeing and it was called Connexion, but it was shut off at the end of 2006 because its satellite-based system proved to be a little too expensive for domestic carriers. In addition, the service demanded passengers $30. Other attempts included one from JetBlue, who introduced a text message/e-mail service last year on one aircraft as a trial.

In June, Aircell began offering its Gogo Internet service on 15 of American Airlines’ Boeing 767 aircraft. The internet offered is seen as comparable to a home DSL and while this “air-to-ground” technology is less expensive for airlines to install, it limits access to flying over land. An amusing fact reveals that you can put a little instant-messaging icon that says “I’m flying.” Anyway, it’s step forward in the attempt of making Internet accessible wherever you are.