The Columbus Dispatch

August 2, 2010

Columbus-based NetJets, the world's largest private jet operator, said last week that it had struck a deal to equip its fleet for Wi-Fi Internet service.

"A group of our owners has been asking for this for a long time," said Bill Noe, chief operating officer of NetJets. "It's been looked at before, but the decision to allocate capital to it was just made recently."

The cost is being absorbed by NetJets, and service will be provided free to NetJets users, who pay tens of thousands of dollars per year to own fractional shares of aircraft. After losing more than $700 million last year, the company has returned to profitability this year.

More than 250 of NetJets' mid- and large-cabin aircraft are being equipped first. NetJets' total fleet numbers more than 800; the company plans to have all future new aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi.

Colorado-based Aircell, which is providing the equipment, is the leading provider of Wi-Fi to airlines under its Gogo brand name. In addition to major carriers including Delta Air Lines and AirTran, Aircell is working with private jet operators including California-based XO Jet and Cleveland-based Flight Options to install Wi-Fi.

Private jet firms know they must offer Wi-Fi as part of the premium experience of such travel, said Scott Liston, executive vice president of Cincinnati-based Aviation Research Group/U.S. and a former NetJets executive.

"What private aviation can't be doing is playing catch-up with the major airlines," Liston said. "This is a recognition that this (Wi-Fi) has become an expectation for the high-end traveler."