Abu Dhabi flag-carrier Etihad has announced plans to roll out onboard wireless connectivity for its long-haul routes.

The carrier confirmed September 28 that two aircraft flying between Abu Dhabi and Europe would be kitted out by the end of the year.

Further aircraft will be added by March 2012, the airline said, and it is preparing to decide on a ‘fleet-wide’ system which will allow customers to surf the internet while flying on all its planes.

Passengers on Qantas will be the first in the world to have in-flight entertainment streamed wirelessly to tablet devices in a trial announced by the airline Thursday.

To be rolled out from the end of next month on one Boeing 767-300 flying domestic routes, the six-week test will see Qantas’s current entertainment programme broadcast to a tablet supplied by the airline.

The brand of tablet is yet to be confirmed, but Qantas said Apple’s popular iPad was among the models being considered.

Korean Air is to inaugurate its new A380 “superjumbo” on a route between New York City and Seoul this week.

The airline, which is the seventh in the world to fly the enormous Airbus aircraft, will wave off the first A380 flight from New York across the Pacific Ocean on August 9, launching what it describes as a “new age of air travel.”

It will be the first A380 service between Asia and New York, carrying some 407 passengers — considerably less than the 525 that the A380 is capable of.

Michael Chiarello, chef, author and TV host, is the latest food celebrity tapped by an airline to create star-powered in-flight meals.

Delta Air Lines announced Monday that passengers flying in their BusinessElite cabin will tuck into meals specially developed by the American chef.

Michael Chiarello is known for his Emmy Award-winning show Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello, shown on US channel the Food Network and his performance on Top Chef Masters on US cable channel Bravo.

Flyers with US budget carrier JetBlue can now buy themselves speedy access through security lines, an idea which could catch on further afield.

At select airports, passengers who purchase the “even more speed” package will be able to use dedicated lanes, or those reserved for premium passengers, to ensure they pass through security checkpoints faster than the rest.

Although many airports around the world offer a premium security package sold by a third party, such as Privium at Schiphol and London Heathrow‘s “Fast Track” program, an airline bundling the service with a flight is an interesting development.

Malaysia Airlines has become the first major airline to ban babies from the first-class cabins on its aircraft, and will extend the ban on the A380 super jumbo.

The airline’s CEO Tengku Azmil said the airline’s forthcoming A380 would not have bassinets, the in-flight cribs required for babies to fly in, installed.

Parents who wish to fly with Malaysia Airlines’ current fleet are restricted to the business and economy cabins, which do have bassinets available.