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A sad day for internet junkies who travel longhaul: Boeing is officially discontinuing its Connexion service, which allowed users to surf the web at 35,000 feet, over land or sea. As announced previously, the service hasn’t caught on quickly enough and is unprofitable.

While no precise date has been given for the official shutdown date, the company is negotiating with customers for an “orderly phase-out.”

A number of airlines have installed the service on their planes, and they’re bound to be upset at this. Not to mention those few but dedicated fans of inflight surfing who were willing to pay $9.95 per hour or $26.95 per flight for access.

Perhaps the current airline customers will chip in and take it off Boeing’s hands, but that seems unlikely.

Alternative systems like AirCell and LiveTV are readying to enter the North American market, but they have no coverage over oceans.

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tags: travel | Connexion | Boeing | inflight internet