Boeing can’t find a buyer for its high-speed broadband airline service and decided to shut the business down by the end of the year. About 25 customers use the service in a typical long-haul Lufthansa flight for a cost of about $26.95 per day, not enough for viability.

This decision ends the only in-flight internet service for commercial airline travelers and does not bode well for the future of in-flight entertainment. However, this service has been losing money since its inception in 2000, and airlines are finding themselves battling not only each other for customers, but a huge rise in fuel costs and additional security. Ideally, airlines would like to entice customers with extras such as wifi, movies and other revenue generating products, however, customers are using online services to find the lowest fares and becoming less loyal to carriers and more price sensitive. Additionally, these perks are not generating enough revenue to pay for themselves anyway, let alone enticing more customers to travel.

"We are disappointed because it is something that our customers have enjoyed," says Jennifer Urbaniak, a spokewoman for Lufthansa, which was Connexion’s first customer in 2004. "We’re hopeful that we will be able to find a way to continue the service in the future with another partner."

Connexion’s system costs about $500,000 or more to install on an aircraft. Major US airlines showed much interest in Connexion when it was launched but have struggled to earn profits, and couldn’t justify spending the money on the system. It would take a huge amount of customers just to break even, let alone earn a profit.

Perhaps Connexion is ahead of its time, or perhaps other factors such as unexpectedly high fuel costs and security concerns have become obstacles for such services; either way, don’t expect wifi on your next flight or very soon. In fact, if you’ve traveled recently you will have noticed that many airline services have been cut back, such as movies and meals. They now charge ridiculous amounts for snacks as well. I imagine that the soft drinks that are free today will soon cost money as well. And as evidenced by recent events, you won’t be able to bring your own drinks aboard.