Back in 2009, I was on a plane that offered free use of the Gogo Inflight Internet service so I tried it out and wrote about my experiences, which were positive. Gogo provides Wi-Fi on many different airlines including Air Canada, AirTran, Alaska Airlines, AmericanAirlines, Delta, Frontier, United, US Airways and Virgin America — currently over 1,000 different airplanes. Since my original post in 2009, many people have told me, wrote to me, or posted a comment on that original post saying that they have had disappointing experiences with Gogo, so I have been curious to try it again.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been on twelve different Delta flights (three trips with connections on both sides of the trip). Knowing that I would have several trips in June, I paid for 30 days of service on June 1 to give Gogo a more comprehensive test. Once again, my experience was for the most part quite positive.
Unlike the last time that I tried the service, there is now a Gogo app that works on the iPhone or iPad to help you sign on to the service. You don’t need the app (you can sign up using a web browser) but the app saves you the trouble of typing in your username and password every time you use the service.
Signing in to Gogo Inlight Internet
The procedure for using Gogo is as follows:
1. Wait for the flight attendant to announce that you have reached 10,000 feet and you are allowed to use electronic devices. On your iPhone or iPad go to Settings –> Wi-Fi and select the Gogo service.
2. Wait a few seconds for the Wi-Fi icon to appear at the top of the screen.
3. Launch the Gogo app. You will see one of the following screens. If you didn’t wait long enough, you will be told that the service is unavailable (the first picture below). But if all goes well you’ll see something like the second picture below.
4. If you need to sign up for the service, you will be given several different priced options. The current prices for the iPhone or iPad are as follows. (Service for a computer is slightly more expensive.)
- $4.95 for a flight that is up to 90 minutes (650 miles)
- $7.95 for a flight that is over 90 minutes (over 650 miles)
- $19.99 for 30 days of service on a single airline
There are several other packages with different prices. For example, if you pre-purchase Gogo before you are on your flight, you can pay $34.95 for a month of service on any plane from any airline. Better yet, if you use this link on the Delta website you can currently get that service for only $24.95. You can also pre-purchase a 24 hour pass on the Gogo website for $12.95, and Delta is currently selling the 24 hour pass at a discounted price of $11.00.
5. If you already have an account with a username/password that is saved in the Gogo app, then after you tap the sign in button, you see the following screen at which you need to type the characters shown on the screen. I presume that thi step is designed to make it harder for someone to hack into the service, but it sure is annoying.
6. Finally, you wait for the service to start, which usually takes about 5 seconds or so. The app tells you when the service is ready.
All of the above screenshots are from an iPhone, but if you are using the app on an iPad, the steps are the same. The Gogo app only works in portrait mode on the iPad (I can’t imagine a reason for that limitation), but the process works the same, and you see screens like this:
Speed of Gogo Inflight Internet
Once you are connected, you can exit the Gogo app and use your iPhone or iPad like normal. You can only use your account on one device at a time, but you can easily go back and forth — you just log in from the new device and the account becomes inactive on the other device.
The question most people ask me is: how fast is the service? My qualitative answer is: fast enough for e-mail, simple web browsing, Twitter, Facebook, etc. To give you a quantitative answer, I used the Speedtest.net app to test Internet speeds on each flight. The results from my 12 flights ranged from 0.31 Mbps to 0.81 for download speeds and from 0.18 to 0.88 Mpbs for upload speeds. The speed varies throughout each flight (and I’m sure was dependent on who else was using the service) but most of the time the speeds were around .70 Mbps download, with the following picture showing a typical result:
When I use my iPhone on the Wi-Fi at my home, I can easily get 10 Mpbs or more for download speeds. Data speed using AT&T 3G on my iPhone varies greatly; it can sometimes be 1 Mbps download or slower, other times it is 3 Mbps or much higher. So in other words, Gogo is likely not as fast as the Wi-Fi you use at home or your office, but it does feel similar to what you see over 3G on those occasions when 3G is working but is on the slow side. You need to wait for screens to load, but they do load before too long.
I did have one occasion on a flight from Atlanta to New Orleans when the Gogo service didn’t work at all. Other people on the plane noticed the same thing, so I asked the flight attendant if there was a way to reset the system, and she said no. Nevertheless, about halfway through the flight I tried it again, and it was working. This only happened to me once over those twelve flights and at the time I didn’t have a pressing need to use the Internet so it was not a big deal, but I’m sure that if I had pre-purchased service for that one particular flight, I would not have been pleased.
Usefulness of Gogo Inflight Internet
Is it worth it? For me, it was, mostly because of emails. First, Gogo can create billable hours. For those of you who are attorneys who bill by the hour, I presume that your billing rate is much higher than the cost of Gogo. Of course, there are other ways to bill, such as bringing documents that you can read, but I have many days that a big part of my billable hours involves working through e-mails, and it is nice to be able to do that on the plane. Second, Gogo avoids e-mail pile up. I hate getting off of a flight only to see that I have dozens of e-mails to work my way through. By keeping up with the e-mail during the flight, I avoid seeing those large double digit numbers in the red circle above my Mail icon when I turn on my iPhone after the plane has landed. Third, Gogo helps you to stay in touch. It is often helpful to be able to immediately respond to e-mails in real-time, especially when they are time-sensitive questions from clients. Fourth, even if you are not working, it is enjoyable to have Internet access if (like me) you enjoy reading Twitter or using an RSS reader to read the latest news from the websites of your choice.
I have also used Gogo to use the LogMeIn app on my iPad to access my office when I realized that I left a file on the desktop of my office computer that I had intended to read on the plane. The ability to access that file in my office from 30,000 feet was not just useful — it made me feel like I was living in the future. (Hey, aren’t we all supposed to have jetpacks by now?)
I don’t plan to use Gogo every time I travel in the future. $5 for a single flight that only lasts about 90 minutes will often seem like too much — although of course at an airport you can spend that much on a coffee or just a part of your lunch, so in that context perhaps it feels less expensive. On the other hand, if I have several trips in a month, $20 is much easier to justify.
Note that even if you don’t pay for Gogo, you can use Gogo for free to access an airline website or use an airline app on your iPhone or iPad. Thus, during your flight you can look up your gate of arrival, the gate of your next flight, find out whether flights are delayed, etc. And every once in a while you will see other specials. This past March, I saw that you could access Twitter for free using Gogo. This month, on Delta flights, you can use Gogo for free to access the Zappos.com website — perfect for when you have an emergency need for shoes at 30,000 feet. You can read the Gogo blog to keep up with the latest deals and learn other travel-related tips.
Gogo Inflight Internet is relatively slow compared to what you normally see on your iPhone or iPad, but for most tasks it is fast enough to get the job done, at a price that is somewhat high but often something that you can justify. My tests over the last few weeks confirm that — just as was the case when I first tried this service back in 2009 — Gogo can be a valuable service for those looking to get work done with an iPhone or iPad on a plane.
Click here to get Gogo Inflight Internet for iPhone and iPad (app is free; service has costs): 
Click here to get Speedtest.net (free):
Nice message and step by step screenshots of what it looks like when logging in with the Gogo app.
Good read. This was a huge help on my decision to use gogo tomorrow.
Gogo is absolutely useless!! Do not waste your money. I was showing download speeds of less than .3mps and could not stream any videos from youtube, netflix or other websites. It took over 2-3 minutes just to update the ipad app, words with friends. Other than basic htmp formatted emails, this service is over priced and cannot deliver useful wifi service. That said, READ THE FINE PRINT! I bought the monthly plan because the one time plan does not allow you to change planes without a new purchase or use it on your return flight. So if you have a basic flight with one plane change (which most flights are) you will pay the basic rate 4 times to use it to your destination and back. So the monthly rate is the best deal (if you can call $35/month a deal for slower than dial up). And this plan is recurring. When I called after seeing it hit my card on the same day it recurs, I was told they put it in bold print. The also apparently tell you in the FAQ that you can not use it for video streaming (who reads the whole website while sitting on plane….that alone would keep you busy for your flight). They best they could offer was cancelling my plan immediately and I was welcome to continue using the service for the month that I just paid for and did not want. When I pushed, they offered me three free codes to sign into gogo on future flights (of course I won’t need those for another month because I already have the pass I just got dinged for and did not want). I declined the codes because using the service was more frustrating than useful and after being conned into a recurring plan, I would be reminded of the poor customer service I received and be too upset to bother. Keep your money and enjoy the brief time in our busy lives that we cannot be reached by cell or internet. I know that I will.
Avoid GoGo at all means. They will enroll you on monthly based service even if you don’t ask for it. It is painful to get out of their plan. There is no way to cancel the service from their webpage. You need to call or chat with someone in order to do such thing.
Below a transcript of my chat with GoGo
ME: Where can I stop the monthly charge?
Shiloh: I will do it for you on my end. One moment please and I will get you the confirmation number.
ME: you don’t even offer a way to cancel on your page!
Shiloh: No, many companies are like that. We have to do it on our end
ME: you guys are a a scam!
Terrible experience with GOGO attempting even simple email through a Microsoft Exchange account on an iPad. Bandwidth too slow to get even small messages to load. Painful. Hassle. Waste of time. No refunds.
GOGO needs to rename themselves NONO. I fly 2x per week coast-to-coast. I have (one of the few I am sure) annual passes for GOGO ($400). I have been using NONO since early 2009.
In 2009:
Cost 12.95 for coast-to-coast.
Was able to stream video on YouTube and Netflix. Could obviously stream audio as well. do emails, surf web, etc.
2010/2011:
Price eventually rose to $14.95 for coast-to-coast
No more video streaming. Reduced picture quality on still images.
At least I still could stream audio from Pandora or Sirius or MLB
2011/2012:
Price up to about $20
Bye bye audio (don’t even try video)
A little weather, or a lot of passenger on-line…email becomes snail mail. Web pages load like molasses.
Today:
I dare you to try to stream anything. If you do NONO system chokes down your bandwidth and your screwed.
Thanks GOGO….terrific product. As your product offering deteriorates, your price accelerates. I guess it makes sense since we purchase it on an airline.
A couple weeks back on an Alaska flight from Seattle to Austin, I purchased the GOGO service out of curiosity to try on my new iPhone 4S. The first thing I did was go to the app store to get a speed test app to test the performance. Just doing a search in the app store was slow, with the app icons in the results appearing one at a time about one a second. Not a good sign. The speedtest.net app took a painfully long time to download. I don’t remember how long exactly, but I put my phone down and did other things, checking back periodically to see if it was still downloading.
When I ran the speed test, results I got were 0.03 Mbps download, and surprisingly 0.26 Mbps upload with a 9 ms ping. Other than email, it was basically unusable. I can only hope for their sake, these were not normal results. I do not plan to ever buy again.
Exactly the same experience. Even web browsing and email are torture. Feels like dial-up modem days!
Don’t waste your time with gogo inflight internet access!! Lucky for me I only paid for the “this flight access” plan and I am DEFINITELY NEVER GOING TO BUY IT AGAIN!!!! (Underline definitely; never; and again) I was wanting to watch my movie on my flight back home, but NOOO! I had to wait about 15 minutes for Netflix to get to 20% then pop up with – and I quote – “Internet Problem – please use your computer and blah ba blah ba blah.” I tried getting on to google, then google chrome, tried my email, ended up having connection problems- again. I ended up going to their website and started searching up videos- works fine on the website if you pay for it, and after the problems with the internet I was for SURE to not pay for a stinkin’ movie. So, GOGO Inflight Video is one; a waste of your time, money, and space on the internet; two; a congame- they blocked Netflix so you would have to go to their website and pay for their educational tv shows and horrible movies; and three; a complete and false advertisement, they say that “GOGO services allow access to the internet at fast speeds.” Well let me tell you this- infact let me rephrase it for you!! “GOGO services allow ZERO access to the internet and your favorite sites, and we want you to pay a monthly fee to our horrible internet access so we can have your MONEY! Oh, and I forgot, and just for you the slower than a snail in molasses internet loading speed.” So please consider this a warning- DO NOT UNDER *ANY* CIRCUMSTANCES BUY GOGO!! Take it from the person who waited 15 minutes to get the review page to load just to write this review ON the plane!!
I’ll put it bluntly
Unless the only thing you intend to do is send one email on a 4 hour flight don’t spend a fucking penny.
I can’t even load a 1:38 YouTube clip….. Been trying for 3.5 hours and have gotten to 45 seconds loaded.
Not worth it.
I suggest doing all the downloading prior to stepping in the airport
No network smart guy would stand behind this crap
My old dial up was faster
2G was faster
3G way faster and
4g looks like god compared to this nonsense
Internet + airport / plane = bullshit
Gogo Inflight is a rip off. They will charge your credit card every month, but they will not send you an email notice. Then, when you discover the charges one your credit card statement (three months later), they will make it a royal pain in the ass for you to cancel the service. You can only cancel via chat window. They will not send a confirmation when you cancel.
Moreover, they will claim (when you want to cancel) that GoGo charges are “non-refundable”. Therefore, once you’ve been charged for the month in advance, they will refuse to credit back the charges for the service that you haven’t used.
Also keep in mind that their is no customer service phone number. Billing disputes, technical support, and other inquiries must all be handled via “chat” window on-line.
This service is a snare and a delusion.
CORRECTION: Try this number 877-350-0038 for customer service. It’s not available on their website, but they sent it to me in a chat window.
Same bad experience as everyone else. Nov 2012, couldn’t use Pandora, Netflix, Youtube, AppStore, of iTunes on iPhone 4S. What is the point? Did the $10 options. Asked for a refund after the trip and the best they offered was a $5 refund.
Not worth the money. You can read your email if you have an ascsi text mail server. It looks like some sites are blocked. Ok, they say they don’t support HBO or Netflix. They should say they don’t support any form of streaming, flash, or motion. It takes 5 to 10 minutes to download 1 minute of video. I will not purchase again.
READ THE FINE PRINT!!! If you purchase a monthly plan, they charge you every month unil you cancel!
Gogo used to be good but now have numberous bandwidth issues on all the flights I’ve had in the last month. I am done with them.
GOGO is horrible. Worse bandwidth than a 2400kbs modem. At least even with a modem, data will stream in over time. GOGO only seems to work in 1 minute intervals every 5 minutes or so. Please DO NOT PURCHASE this service.
I use GoGo whenever I am on a flight offering the service. Since I travel primarily for business related to my solo appellate law practice, having in-flight Wi-Fi, even if not particularly fast, is a great productivity enhancer. I found GoGo more than adequate for syncing files to my iPad or iPad Mini using SugarSync or doing on-line legal research on my Chromebook. Email is also a primary use of the GoGo connection for me.
I’ve also used it occasionally for entertainment, streaming music via MOG, or radio via TuneIn. A year and a half ago our local high school football team was playing the national #1 ranked team at the same time I was in the air from Detroit to Tampa. I was able to listen to the game broadcast on the radio by connecting my iPad to GoGo and firing up TuneIn app.
So even if GoGo isn’t perfect, it is still very useful and I would encourage others to try it.
I bought a one-month pass a few months and they automatically renew every month without telling you!!! Watch out. It’s somewhere in their fine print of course, but very misleading. Shady company – do not trust!
Gogo has been terrible for me for the last 6 months that I have tried using it frequently. It seems independent of route – flights to phoenix/san diego/boston/st louis. I’m talking about basic web browsing across sites (news, travel, email etc) – low bandwidth sites.I travel every week and really wish Alaska would introduce a competing service. Being stuck with Gogo is like dealing with a 1960s govt owned telephone monopoly – overpriced third-rate service.
Absolutely awful. Begins with slow connection speed and goes down from there. Frequent internet cut outs and extended periods with no service at all. Worst of all is the feeling of getting gouged and ripped off when you have no choice and by a company that is not ready for prime time. Welcome to the world of pay by the hour dail-up service circa 1996. When competition moves in, I will remember GoGo over charging me and choose accordingly.
I wish I had read this web page before I purchased GoGo on a flight to Las Vegas. I felt that I was back in the days of dial up internet connections. I tried to stream a TV show and every minute the screen would freeze for 10 seconds and so on. The airlines should be embarrassed that they are offering this terrible service.
You people are a bunch of whiners. I’ve used GoGo many times for email and websurfing (in fact, I am doing so right now) without any problem. All the complaints seem to be about streaming videos. First of all I have no sympathy for all you whiney people who cannot live without your youtube videos and inane television shows. I can only imagine the quality of the content you are missing.
GoGo is fine for email and websurfing, which is what it is designed to support – grown-ups with jobs and lives and not dumbed-down adolescents and hipster idiots who cannot live without their moronic streaming entertainment.
What a total waste of money. Cannot stream netflix, flight did not have on demand videos and the speed is unbearably slow. I’d rather stare at the seat back then pay for this again.
Yesterday Delta had it available on my flights from Pittsburgh to Helena. I saw no indication of cost. I also had no success connecting for email ofpr Facebook. I was using Iphone 5. It was quite useless to me.
Agreed… The service is terrible. If you’re flying anywhere east of California, but West of Chicago. Don’t bother – you wont get a connection that’s usable anyway.
This service sucks. There is no doubt about it.
I once again after a prior failure had an absolute failure with the service of GoGo Inflight. The first time it would not let me access my office computer. I was told at the time it was that there wasn’t enough bandwidth available THAT DAY because of heavy use. There was nothing then about inability to reach employer sites. A year later I tried again. There was a warning about streaming but again nothing about employer sites which are not comparably demanding. I registered but was never able to get off a frozen registration screen. I figured I did not get through. When opened the email account I used for registration (the one I use for spammer type companies) I found out I was charged. When I called I got a rude “You should have texted us”. Of course, I then told her my screen was frozen, and she replied “then you should have called us when you got off the plane”. After the lecturing she did check and found guess what–I had not used a second of wifi time. I did get a refund but no apologies for the failure which wasted at least 20 minutes of my time on the plane, plus the time on the call, or the condescending lecture. This product is useless for business.
slow, and they don’t tell you the duration of the flight you’ve got left before purchase.
DO NOT USE or if you do pay for single use then watch your credit card statement .. I paid for a month pass for my I phone to keep up with e-mail, IT WAS VERY EASY to sign up and pay, reading the description on the pay page it seemed like a one month, one time pay offer .. NOT!! must be some really fine print or a buried link because GOGO will charge your card, without notification renewing forever or until you get them on chat and demand cancellation, which is SO MUCH HARDER then signing up.. hmm..
I just cancelled the MONTHLY renew but not confident it will be done. buyer beware. GOGO is not an ethical company and Airlines that partner with GOGO will have their reputations tarnished and brand diminished.
Actually American nationals should try to travel with either Asian or Middle Eastern carrier then they would realize how poor and expensive the service is on US carriers. 2 days was flying on board of Garuda Airlines and was able to have video streaming. On Delta, I could barely download emails or access to website while the cost for the full flight of Internet on Garuda was 30 dollars (valid for 24 hours) and delta for a 8hrs flight only cost nearly 50 usd. Again another rip off from U.S. carriers. I will never pay again for such service on an American carrier