Alternately, “BLOGS ON A PLANE!“
As what was once an addictive fad grows into a modern necessity, it’s no surprise that someone would develop a way to get WiFi on a plane. American Airlines now offers in-flight WiFi with Aircell’s Gogo internet service. It’s currently available on select flights within the US for $12.95. According to LaptopMag’s Joanna Stern, the service is sound, which she tests by multitasking—streaming video, chatting, email—it all works just fine. And if you’re not exactly tech-savvy, Stern mentions that there’s a Gogo rep right on the plane to offer assistance. It seems that there isn’t any content being filtered, however Gogo blocks VOIP (voice over IP internet phone service) for the obvious reason that in-flight phone conversations would be extremely distracting to other passengers. (Of course, as she mentions there’s already a way around the block). Currently American Airlines is the only airline offering Gogo, but Delta and Virgin America will be soon to follow.
It’s actually surprising to see an airline offering a service like this for so little when you can find free ways online to entertain yourself… with all the price gouging lately you’d half expect to see them charge an additional $2 to access YouTube and Hulu. (I hope I didn’t just give them any ideas!)
by Jenni Chasteen Marketing Assistant · August 26th, 2008 
1 response so far ↓
Honestly I don’t think $12.95 is worth it, especially for shorter flights. That’s over half my monthly bill for wireless at home. I’d rather put the money toward that and catch the in-flight movie or read a book.
To be fair, I’ve never been an enormous fan of bringing my computer on board before they had in-flight wifi. It’s just another thing to worry about and now another way to hand over my money.
I think others are going to love it though. It’s going to make it a lot harder to convince people to flip up their tray tables to let you get by.
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