Seven dollars for a pillow and blanket on JetBlue. Twenty-five dollars to book a flight by phone or in person with Delta. Twenty-five dollars to send an unaccompanied minor on Southwest. And now comes a charge that the airlines hope you might not cringe to pay: an in-flight wireless Internet connection fee. The race is on among the nation's largest airlines to install the circuitry that lets passengers go wireless while jetting across the sky. Southwest Airlines announced last month that it is moving ahead with plans to install satellite-enabled broadband on its entire fleet by early next year. It is using Row 44, a private technology company based in Westlake Village, Calif. Southwest has yet to announce a pricing plan. Last month, Delta announced it had installed Wi-Fi in more than 70 percent of its domestic fleet. American Airlines also announced in August that it had installed Wi-Fi in 100 MC-80 planes, with plans to install the service on another 50 airplanes by the end of the year. What makes airlines believe passengers will fork over up to $12.95 to check e-mail, update a Facebook status and tweet about weekend plans? A survey by the Wi-Fi industry suggests that most business travelers will pick an airline with such service over flights with meals, free movies or convenient arrival times. The survey, commissioned by the Wi-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit industry group, found that 76 percent of the 480 frequent business travelers interviewed would choose an airline based on the availability of in-flight Internet service. More than 70 percent of those surveyed would choose an airline with Wi-Fi over one that provided meal service, and 55 percent said they would shift their flight by one day if it meant getting the in-flight service. But passengers are not using airborne Wi-Fi in such high percentages. On Virgin America, the first U.S. airline to offer Wi-Fi throughout its fleet, the percentage of passengers who pay for the service is between 10 percent and 15 percent. On transcontinental flights, up to 25 percent of passengers take the service, according to airline representatives. Virgin uses Wi-Fi services by Aircell, an Illinois company that provides mobile broadband for eight airlines. Most airlines with Internet service offer a Wi-Fi price schedule that increases with the length of the flight. Aircell charges between $5.95 for flights lasting 90 minutes or less to $12.95 for flights longer than three hours. JetBlue, on the other hand, plans to offer free e-mail and instant messaging services on 20 of its Airbus A320 planes, beginning later this year. Kelley Davis-Felner, marketing director of the Wi-Fi Alliance, said the survey's results make one thing clear. 'Staying connected is a thing that business workers are comfortable playing for,' she said. But others believe it might just be a matter of time before free-market forces prompt airlines to offer Wi-Fi for free, or at least for frequent fliers. 'As more and more services get introduced on airlines, will they be able to sustain Wi-Fi fee?' asked Michael W. McCormick, executive director of the National Business Travelers Association. 'There will be continued pressure on airlines to offer it as a core service.' After checking e-mails and updating Facebook, Delta thinks you might want to take a nap. The airline announced last month that it will soon offer business class passenger seats that recline almost flat on all of its New York-Los Angeles flights and New York-San Francisco routes, joining United Airlines and Virgin America in offering the airborne lounging seats. For the really long hauls from New York's JFK Airport to London's Heathrow Airport, Delta will offer fully flat beds and up to 82 inches of legroom in the BusinessElite cabins, according to the airline. The fully flat beds also will be available on flights from Atlanta and Detroit to London. United and Virgin America also offer reclining seats on flights between the two coasts. If you're planning to rent cars from Avis or Budget Rent a Car after Oct. 1, then you had better plan to use their ashtrays for spare change and not much else. Starting next month, Avis and Budget are taking their entire fleets 100 percent smoke-free, parent company Avis Budget Group Inc. said in a statement. Every make and model will be affixed with a sticker to inform customers about the policy, and Avis and Budget are also instituting a new inspection process and cleaning fee to ensure their cars stay smoke-free, the Avis Budget Group said. If a rental car is returned with the smell of smoke or other evidence of smoking, a $250 fee will be charged to the renter, Avis said in an e-mail to customers. 'Tobacco smoke leaves a residue on fabrics, fibers and surfaces of vehicles, which emits odors that many people find unpleasant,' Larry De Shon, Avis Budget Group's executive vice president of operations, said in a statement. 'In fact, we receive more customer requests for smoke-free vehicles than any other `special request.' ' 