In late May, Ortwin Freyermuth readied himself for an 11-hour flight from Munich to his Los Angeles home - a journey typically preceded by a flurry of last-minute e-mail messages, in anticipation of a day's worth of traveling incommunicado.

This time, though, Mr. Freyermuth eased onto his Lufthansa flight less harried than on previous trips. When his plane reached cruising altitude, he opened up his iBook, logged onto the Internet and answered messages from 30,000 feet.

"It was amazing," said Mr. Freyermuth, a lawyer. "Now I don't have to stress out before every flight."

The price of a stress-free flight - Lufthansa's Connexion by Boeing service costs $30 for a long-haul flight (six hours or more), or $10 for 30 minutes - is perhaps more than some are willing to pay. But Connexion is at the leading edge of a trend that analysts and executives said will gain momentum this year, and is likely to lead to lower prices, a greater selection of vendors and much more mouse clicking on flights.

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Source : NYT