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Gogo Inflight Internet app makes flying sign-ins a snap

Steve Sande
Features Editor
Updated ·2 min read

If you're one of those people who spends way too much time in airplane seats, you've probably been thrilled with Gogo Inflight Internet. The company provides Internet service on all AirTran and Virgin America flights, and has service on some flights on Air Canada, Alaska, American, Delta, United and US Airways flights. They're expanding to more aircraft and airlines in 2011, so being able to send Twitpics of your seatmate or video of dancing flight attendants will become entirely too commonplace.

Gogo wants to make it even easier for you to get online while you're airborne. The free Gogo Inflight Internet app is designed to detect if your flight is equipped with the Gogo network, and if it is (and provided that you've also signed up with the company ahead of the flight), you can get online with a tap of a button.

For those of us who still haven't been on a Wi-Fi equipped aircraft and need to sign up for a Gogo account, there's even a button to let you do that while in the app. Unlike the very stupid or naive person who left a 1-star review of the app in the App Store, griping that the Gogo service was not free, I think most TUAW readers are bright enough to understand that this app simply signs you into the service -- you still have to pay for the privilege, which can run anywhere from US$4.95 for a short flight to $34.95 for a month of unlimited in-flight Wi-Fi. The app works on any iOS device, although it's really designed for an iPhone or iPod touch.

The TUAW crew is used to seeing fearless leader Victor Agreda wandering the virtual newsroom while on Gogo-equipped flights. I'm just waiting for the opportunity to use Gogo's service to do the first inflight episode of TUAW TV Live... after the airplane reached 10,000 feet and the crew has given us the OK to use approved electronic devices, of course.

(Note to Gogo Inflight Internet: the screenshot used above is from your App Store listing. You may want to show that the phone service must be shut off while in flight.)