Get $4 off your next GoGo inflight internet

by Grant Martin on

Now that internet is becoming commonplace in many of the nation’s airlines, cheapasses like myself are trying to find a way to get it for free. Honestly, should it cost 1/2 as much as a month of internet at home to check your email on a 5 hour flight to Los Angeles? Furthermore, shouldn’t people in first class get wireless for free?

I digress. Once supply fills in I hope that internet prices will go down. In the meantime, use the code 4wifi to get $4 off your subscription of $13 or $10 respectively. No, 5wifi or 50wifi does not take more money off. I tried.

Use the code on GoGo enabled flights, including Air Canada, Air Tran, American, Delta, United and Virgin America.

4wifi expires July 2nd. Check out more details about Gogo at their site.

Virgin America and Google team up for “a day in the cloud” scavenger hunt

by Scott Carmichael on

Virgin America and Google are teaming up for another world’s first – an online puzzle challenge that can be played on the ground and in the air.

Their “day in the cloud” is scheduled for June 24th and will let players on the ground compete with people flying with Virgin America. For this event, access to the Gogo Inflight WiFi service will be free.

Prizes include free flights on Virgin America, HP Netbook computers and a 1TB of Google account storage for email and photos.

To sign up for the challenge, head on over to the contest web site and hand them your information.

Virgin America is the first airline in the world with fleetwide WiFi service

by Scott Carmichael on

Last week, we wrote that Virgin America was aiming to become the first airline with fleetwide WiFi service.

A different airline had been telling us that they would be first to reach this milestone, but as of today, Virgin America is indeed the first airline in the world with Internet access on every single one of their flights. Internet access is provided by the Gogo In-flight service.

To celebrate, Virgin America will be airing an air-to-ground Skype call on the Oprah Winfrey show this Thursday May 21st (don’t worry, Skype is normally blocked on all flights).

This call is another first for the in-flight Internet world. Previously, Virgin America broadcast a live Youtube video stream from the air, and in February 2009, they hosted a live national TV broadcast over the coast of Massachusetts. In addition to this, they were also the first airline to inform customers which flights would be WiFi enabled at the time of booking.

It is refreshing to see an airline take a new technology, and promote it this aggressively, and on behalf of geeks, workaholics and Twitter addicts from around the world, I’d like to thank Virgin America.

Internet service on Virgin America costs $9.95 for flights up to 3 hours and $12.95 for longer flights. Red-eye flights offer a discounted rate of just $5.95 and passengers with a WiFi enabled PDA or Smartphone can get online for just $7.95.

Virgin America grabs claim to first fleetwide airborne Internet service

by Scott Carmichael on

Things move mighty fast in the world of inflight Internet access. A mere 6 hours after I posted about a different airline claiming to be the first with (upcoming) fleetwide Internet access, Virgin America has stepped forward as the new winner.

In fact, in just 2 weeks (on Memorial day), Virgin America will have the Gogo Inflight service available on all their planes, making them the first airline in the country to reach this milestone.

It was only 6 months ago that we celebrated the launch of their service on board Virgin America flight 8001.

And sure, it may be easier to get your entire fleet equipped when you are not as large as some of the legacy carriers, but their commitment to providing Internet on all their flights is one that deserves a round of applause.

Until their entire fleet has been outfitted, you can check whether your upcoming flight will be equipped with the service when you book a ticket on their site, just look for the little “WiFi” icon in the flight lineup.

AirTran set to become the first airline with fleetwide Gogo Inflight Internet access

by Scott Carmichael on

AirTran is the newest airline to bring inflight Internet access to the skies. The airline chose the Gogo Inflight to outfit their planes, which is the driving force behind airborne Internet service on United Airlines, American Airlines, Virgin America and Delta.

What makes the Airtran announcement special, is that their entire fleet will be equipped with the service by mid-summer.

That means all 136 AirTran planes will allow you to get online just in time for your vacation.

Gadling took Gogo Inflight for a spin last year on Virgin America, and as far as I am concerned, the service is the biggest thing to hit the skies since online check-in. Speeds are great, and at $9.95 for flights up to 3 hours, getting online is quite affordable.

Inflight Internet access was just one of the ideas submitted by AirTran passengers on their site “everyflight.com“. Some of the other submissions included “hungry squirrels”, “mojitos” and “remote control cars”. I can see why Internet access won.