Airplane Internet

by PrepaidWirelessGuy
(CA)

So after all these months getting excited about trying airplane Internet, every flight I went on lacked WiFi on the plane. It's not as though I travel that much, but regularly enough to find it pretty frustrating.


Fortunately, last week my flight was oversold on US Airways, and they offered me a direct flight getting in earlier (my flight had a layover) on Delta, plus a $400 voucher; needless to say, I immediately volunteered!


As I approached the plane during boarding I saw the "WiFi on Board" sign on the outside of the plane, and I was very happy! I immediately used my phone to lookup codes to get a free GoGo trial. By the time the plane took off, I was able to get five codes; I was set!


They allow you to take out your computer and logon when the plane reaches >10K feet. So I whipped out my ThinkPad and launched the GoGo landing page. It was extremely intuitive and easy to use. Unfortunately, none of the codes I had were valid.


I did, however, see an ad on the TV in the headrest noting that if you play a short game on the GoGo homepage, everyone wins either a discount or a free session. Needless to say I played the game! It was extremely lame, but took no more than one minute, and won a free session...sweet!


So I spent the next five hours watching TV and working on my computer. It was an extremely productive flight, and having the middle seat empty made it one of the most comfortable and best flights I've ever been on! Fortunately I have the extended 9 cell battery for my laptop, which can last up to 10hrs (6-8 hours with reasonable usage), so battery life wasn't an issue (no plugs on the plane...).


I do have to say, though, that the speed was acceptable, but certainly not super fast. I'm not sure if that's a function of the technology, or the number of people who were using it. I'd say that my Sprint mobile broadband MiFi is noticeably faster than the inflight WiFi service. I'd probably compare it to my mobile broadband service over a VPN. That said, the speed didn't bother me.


My experience using GoGo airplane was so good that I'd probably even pay the normal $12.95/flight (or per 24 hrs) charge for a 5 hour or longer flight. I think if priced at $5, they'd see a lot more adoption, or my personal favorite, ad-supported free service (assuming the ads are obtrusive).


I look forward to the day when ALL flights offer airplane Internet!