United to Offer Wi-Fi Internet on 200 Continental Airplanes

United Continental Holdings announced today that Continental Airlines submitted a letter of intent to add Wi-Fi internet service on more than 200 domestic Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft that are already equipped with DIRECTV.

The new Wi-Fi will be installed only on Continental aircraft. United Airlines currently operates 13 aircraft with GoGo internet and one with Row44 internet, all on Boeing 757s. The new Wi-Fi will be using LiveTV's Ka-band ViaSat-1 satellite service.

United tells AOL Travel News that they are working with Continental and Wi-Fi providers on adding onboard connectivity on additional aircraft beyond those in today's announcement from Continental and the 14 United aircraft that currently offer Wi-Fi.

The airline hopes to start offering the new service starting in the beginning of 2012 and does not know when the installations will be complete. At this time, pricing for the new service has not been finalized.

Currently, United and Continental are still operating as separate carriers as they proceed through the merger process. Passengers will start to see more commonality between the two carriers in the coming months. United has already started with re-painting planes in a common brand and have announced that Economy Plus will be added to Continental aircraft.