Whether we realize it or not, there’s a race going on in the skies above us. With the advent of wireless Internet access creeping into what once our sanctuary of solitude at 37,000 feet has now become a domain for self-righteous dingbats to livestream their flights for all to see.
Leading the way is Virgin America who announced today that they are the first airline in all the land to offer Aircell’s Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service on every single flight. To mark the occasion an air-to-ground Skype video call will take place with thee Oprah Winfrey herself and will air on Thursday the 21st. VoIP calls aren’t allowed on any Virgin America flight, but, you know, you can’t say no to Oprah or she’ll eat you.
Pricing for Gogo on Virgin America flights start at $7.95 for handheld devices, $9.95 for flights less than three hours and $12.95 for anything over. If you’re on a red-eye then need only muster up $5.95, which is a steal for those on transcon flights.
So how does this “first” stack up against AirTran who announced they were doing the same thing earlier this week, before Virgin.
Well, AirTran announced that their entire fleet will be Wi-Fi ready by mid-Summer. Virgin America’s entire fleet is Wi-Fi ready as of today.
ooVoo (not Skype) was actually first to the punch on the in-flight video chat on Virgin America. No Oprah though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6makeCsVeJ0
Who else stands to benefit from WiFi in airlines? http://bit.ly/s8Vw3
oh, please. less of the ego. who gives a fluff. either way we haz net in the air. sold. thanks, done.