Wi-Fi takes to skies with Virgin America

Virgin America, the airline company, has introduced Wi-Fi internet to a number of its flights.

The company, a separate entity from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, is using the Gogo service, from Aircell, to provide connectivity to its passengers.

In order to publicise the news, Virgin America has teamed up with online video sharing site YouTube, to create the first air-to-ground video stream of YouTube Live.

On November 22nd, a Virgin plane will fly over San Francisco, while streaming part of the YouTube show to the audience below.

"Virgin America is harnessing the best in technology and design to reinvent flying, by giving our guests A-list amenities and more control," said vice president of marketing, Porter Gale.

"YouTube has revolutionised the way people connect, inspire and entertain and YouTube Live offers the perfect opportunity to launch a whole new platform for communicating - our in-flight Wi-Fi service."

Earlier this week, Aircell announced that it had improved its Gogo service through collaborating with ZTE USA and Qualcomm.