American Airlines today became the first airline to offer onboard WiFi service for its fliers.  As expected from previous reports, the Aircell Gogo service will be available for passengers willing to pay the $12.95 surcharge for flights that are more than three hours in length.

Nonstop flights on Boeing 767-200 aircraft flying between New York and Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, and New York and Miami will have the new WiFi service.  American Airlines planned on launching the WiFi service on the 15 Boeing aircraft last month, but it was delayed because the system had to be modified.

Each Boeing plane is connected to the WiFi network via ground-based systems through an air-to-ground network.  The planes receive signals from cell towers already in use, which makes the service cheaper for the fliers.  Passengers must wait until the plane reaches 10,000 feet in elevation before signing up for the service.

Talking on cell phones is still prohibited and VoIP has been disabled for all flights, Aircell previously stated.

Aircell will charge $9.95 for all flights three hours or less, and its pricing outline is for all airlines that use its service.

The service will be available on more flights after an initial testing phase of three to six months.

Delta Air Lines confirmed it will begin testing a WiFi service in the fall, with Alaska Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America also have in-air WiFi tests in the works.  Delta will use Gogo for its first class and economy passengers starting sometime in 2009, on at least 330 Delta aircraft.  Several airline companies in Europe and Asia have been testing WiFi and cellular phone use while in flight, with varying results thus far.