Figuring Out In-Flight Wi-Fi

- Sascha Segan

In-flight Wi-Fi has never achieved the quality we experience on the ground, and it’s unlikely to in the future. Yes, we’ve seen the demos that show Gogo’s new 2Ku satellite system is fast enough to provide streaming video for dozens of people at a time. (I’ve even done some of the demos myself.) But it has never seemed to translate into actual speeds on any of the flights I’ve been on, and I fly at least once a month. Perhaps I’m not patient enough; Gogo says there’s a backlog of 1,400 aircraft waiting for their 2Ku upgrades. For now, here are four tips to get you online in the air as fast as possible (even if that’s not very fast).

1. Find out whether your flight has Wi-Fi.