American Airlines will let punters play with an in-flight Internet access system on two flights. The airline expects to offer more servers over the following couple of weeks. However, don’t expect the service to be free. Record high fuel prices and rising costs means that AA is hoping to make a few bucks off the service.

Aircell will charge $9.95 to $12.95 for Internet service, depending on flight length. Aircell and American share the revenue, which is not as bad as the £1 a minute from an airport terminal. The system will be, er, piloted on a flight from JFK to Los Angeles and one return flight. The test will be free.

Aircell is also chatting with Virgin America and JetBlue Airways to bring a free e-mail, instant messaging and some Amazon.com services aboard one of its planes in December.