For about 18 hours or so, I was stuck either on a flight (from Europe) or was in airports with no free Wifi. Data when roaming is expensive, and as a result I am seriously backed up. So when I was boarding the American Airlines flight from New York, I was excited to see that there was going to be wifi on board.
It is nothing new. Every time I get on a plane, I see the wifi sign, I get excited. I can finally catch up on email and all the stuff I need to do. But that excitement lasts for precisely five minutes. Once I login to GoGo Internet, the elation is replaced by disappointment. The speed of the internet is so slow that you can’t really get anything done. Sure I can log into Twitter website and get some updates but that’s all. I have been waiting to reply to emails for about 2 hours and so far I can only see the headers. The system keeps logging me off every five minutes and it took about 10 tries to even log into the WordPress interface.
The GoGo Internet feels like a giant elaborate scam and the company has failed to scale it’s infrastructure as it has started selling people WiFi at even greater prices. They are simply fleecing average person who flies because they can: there is no viable competition for them. This is one of those situations where the whole process should be overseen by FCC!
I know I am not the only one who feels the same way about GoGo..
I completely agree. I just flew up to Seattle and the prices Gogo charges are ridiculous. I don’t know how long it can continue this way and grow. There should be some oversight.
I feel you, Om! Wi-fi on planes today is like wi-fi in coffee shops 5-7 years ago — unreliable and slow. But then consumer demand and expectations grew so high that businesses responded and now good wi-fi is part of practically every coffee shop’s value proposition. The same will eventually happen on planes but the airlines and providers like Gogo would be smart to get out in front of the trend. — denise lee yohn
I like your optimism Ms Lee … but look at something like a drink on a flight. You buy a can of soda and get a cup full of ice and they keep the can with the remainder of the drink. I don’t see wifi on plans getting better any time soon. (Outside of major cities wifi/cell service/broadband still suck.)
I’m still so surprised that there are no decent international data plans for mobile devices… with so many people living increasingly global lives and regularly traveling across borders there’s certainly value in such a service but no one seems to have managed to negotiate a global plan between carriers etc…