Delta Air Lines announced today that it will offer in-flight Internet service starting Tuesday.

The service, called Gogo, will be available initially on five MD-88 aircraft flying between New York's LaGuardia Airport and Boston's Logan and Washington's Reagan airports plus one Boeing 757 flying throughout Delta's domestic system, with service spreading to other Delta routes as additional aircraft are introduced.

Delta says passengers should look for Internet access on planes operated by its Northwest subsidiary by late next year.

Gogo offers customers traveling with Wi-Fi enabled devices (such as laptops, smart phones and personal digital assistants) access to the Internet, corporate virtual private networks, corporate and personal e-mail accounts, as well as SMS texting and instant messaging services.

Flat fees are $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours. Delta is waving the fees for the rest of this year.

A "Wi-Fi hot spot" decal will be prominently displayed next to the boarding door of the MD-88 aircraft, notifying passengers that Internet service is available on their flight. In addition, an instructional card will be available in each seatback, providing details on how to sign up for the service.

American Airlines currently has the service on 174 flights a week. Air Canada and Virgin America are planning to have the service soon.

For more information about Gogo, visit www.gogoinflight.com.

PAUL WALSH