You Think the Guy in the Seat Next to You Is Annoying Now?

[nandagopal]

The C.E.S. floor is obviously huge. But it was not accommodating enough for Gregg Fialcowitz to show off his product. He needed an airstrip. (And, parenthetically, the technology he came to show off might someday inspire sleeplessness and the muttering of expletives).

Mr. Fialcowitz is president of Row 44. The company makes technology that allows people to get e-mail and Internet access — and make telephone calls — on airplanes. Starting later this month, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines are rolling out tests on a handful of aircraft using the Row 44 technology. If the tests work as expected, North American customers of those airlines could be texting, surfing and e-mailing within 18 months, the executive said. (In-flight wireless calls will have to wait. They are not yet approved in the United States.)

To display the technology to journalists and potential business partners, Row 44 flew its test plane to Las Vegas, a 1950s-era Grumman former seaplane with a yellow tail and blue wings. It has been the test bed for the technology that Mr. Fialcowitz hopes will turn downtime on the airplane into revenue for him and the carriers. Access to the service, he proposes, would cost $6 for handheld devices and $8 for laptops for passengers of domestic flights.

There are other revenue models too, and there is competition. A competitor, Aircell, is working with Virgin America and American Airlines in trials that have already begun. The key difference between the companies is that Aircell transmits its signals using cellular towers, while Row 44 uses satellites.

But that's not the operative issue. What is really at stake here is whether Mr. Fialcowitz is going to cost passengers some great nap and relaxation time. Will people who feel compelled to work or who can't resist the urge to surf be able to resist the temptation to wire themselves in the last space on earth where connectivity does not rule?

Mr. Fialcowitz has a solution for people who feel their companies will expect them to spend five-hour flights wired and working, instead of reading and sleeping.

"Tell them that the system is down," he recommends telling your boss. He adds with some self-effacement and a smile that some people might have trouble resisting.

"We do recognize that the technology will annoy some, if not many."

That said, he predicts the technology is coming fast and inevitably.

"It's a freight train," he said. "Even if we were to fail, someone is going to pick up the pieces."