Cell phone use on an airplane

Over the past few days, I spent time on several different airplanes trying to reach my final destination (Dallas, TX) for a wedding. Unfortunately, I never made it there, so we ended up flying all over the country to various small and large cities. Each time I flew, I had to set my smartphone to "airplane mode." Now that we have Wi-Fi on many airplanes, I wonder if (or when) we'll have the freedom and ability to use our smartphones while we're in flight. I suppose I could pay for the in-flight Wi-Fi services, but I'd rather tether with my smartphone.