I love in-flight Wi-Fi so much that I've used it on every flight I've ever taken that offered it, and don't object to paying for it-actually, I'd probably still go online if it cost twice as much. But I'm still tickled by today's news that Google is sponsoring free Gogo Wi-Fi on every Virgin America flight between November 10th and January 15th. More details are available here.
I presume that Google will get some promotional value out of the deal-maybe ads when you log in, with links to Google services-and am intrigued by the possibility that in-air Internet could go from a somewhat pricey paid service to a free, ad-supported one. Back on terra firma, Wi-Fi is increasingly complimentary (both Borders and Barnes and Noble now offer it gratis). Wouldn't it be cool if that were true at ten thousand feet, too? May Google's experiment be a success for everyone concerned, and therefore a widely imitated one...
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