AirTran Airways A+ Rewards - Gogo internet - complimentary

Yesterday while waiting to come home from vacation one of AirTran's representatives at ATL was handing out complimentary Gogo internet codes as we boarded the second leg of our trip.

So I took one and gave Gogo a whirl.

The speed was fast considering the connection is via satellite. I had no problems logging in (I had to create a new account with Gogo) and I did not even had to provide a credit card since I had a code.

My flight was only 50 minutes so I could only use Gogo for about 30 minutes or so given one is not allowed to use a laptop until the flight is underway (electronic device cut-off periods) and just prior to arrival.

It was a very positive experience and it was free. Thank you Airtran.

If I have to send a very urgent email or make an emergency Google search I'd give Gogo a go ;-)

Jaime

p/s If you have a wi-fi enabled device Airtran and Gogo provide free access to some news articles, flight status information (check your connections ahead of time), flight tracking and some very handy Airtran website destination pages (the ones with tips on where to spend your money once you land).

Good information.

I have used GoGo several times now and am also very impressed with the service. It's a great way to help apss the time, especially on a longer flight.

That's the first I have heard of AirTran passing out free codes in the gate area. Elite swere given a code for free use until the end of this month.

I didn't know you could access some of the features for free (if I am interpreting your post correctly).

Good information.

I have used GoGo several times now and am also very impressed with the service. It's a great way to help apss the time, especially on a longer flight.

That's the first I have heard of AirTran passing out free codes in the gate area. Elite swere given a code for free use until the end of this month.

I didn't know you could access some of the features for free (if I am interpreting your post correctly).

On our way to our vacation destination I was able to use the Gogo for free (links from Gogo landing page) to browse all of the Airtran website. I looked up attractions and restaurants at my destination. I was able to use Flitstats for free after linking from the Gogo landing page. There was a link to current news (I was on vacation so I did not want to know any more about health care and cash for clunkers) but I did not use it.

Also, SkyMall was running a special. If one purchased $75 of SkyMall goods one received an instant credit of up to $12.95 to offset the cost of the Gogo session.

So, Gogo can be a cheap substitute for IFE in coach or business (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/airtran-airways-rewards/971147-business-class-cabin.html) :-)

Jaime

Free Wifi on Airtran

Gogoinflight.com reps were handing out coupon codes for the wireless. It's normally $9.99 and up for laptops (depending on flight duration) in flight billed to a credit card.

1. Select 'gogoinflight' as the wireless network and go to any web page
2. Sign in or click 'buy' to create a new account with gogoinflight.com
3. On 'payment info' page, enter this promo code:

1666da73u1

or

1669da59g1

valid until 9/30/2009.

Each code should be good once per account.

Free Wifi on Airtran

Gogoinflight.com reps were handing out coupon codes for the wireless. It's normally $9.99 and up for laptops (depending on flight duration) in flight billed to a credit card.

1. Select 'gogoinflight' as the wireless network and go to any web page
2. Sign in or click 'buy' to create a new account with gogoinflight.com
3. On 'payment info' page, enter this promo code:

1666da73u1

or

1669da59g1

valid until 9/30/2009.

Each code should be good once per account.

Thanks for the codes! The code I had expired as of today.

[QUOTE=NEMMRRC;12281198]

The speed was fast considering the connection is via satellite. I had no problems logging in (I had to create a new account with Gogo) and I did not even had to provide a credit card since I had a code.

QUOTE]


I agree, the Gogo service is great. Aircell's Gogo network is land based (off ground based towers), not satellite.

Appreciate the codes, jiggs, but they weren't working today on AirTran ATL-TPA. Waiting to fly home so I will try again...

One other thing... the go-go access was only $5.95, so I used it anyway. Is that a price cut? Permanently? At that price, I might actually be a more frequent user.

As to the free stuff, there are a half dozen full-length articles from the current Wall Street Journal available for reading.

Appreciate the codes, jiggs, but they weren't working today on AirTran ATL-TPA. Waiting to fly home so I will try again...

One other thing... the go-go access was only $5.95, so I used it anyway. Is that a price cut? Permanently? At that price, I might actually be a more frequent user.

As to the free stuff, there are a half dozen full-length articles from the current Wall Street Journal available for reading.

I believe the rates are tied to flight length and time of day. I've been using a code for the entire month of August, but observed rates of $9.95 between MKE and LGA, $12.95 between MKE and SFO during the day, and $5.95 between MKE and SFO on a red-eye flight.

I'm on MKE-SFO right now and the supplied codes did not work (I'm guessing they were one time use only). Incidentally, kit was only 5.95 on the morning MKE-SFO.

Good news! On msn.com, there is an article today in the Travel section saying that GoGo is dropping the price to $5.95 for all AirTran flights until September 14th.

Then the new price on AirTran is $9.95 for three+ hour flights and $5.95 for all other flights.

Good news! On msn.com, there is an article today in the Travel section saying that GoGo is dropping the price to $5.95 for all AirTran flights until September 14th.

Then the new price on AirTran is $9.95 for three+ hour flights and $5.95 for all other flights.

Interesting. Perhaps not enough folks were willing to use gogo under the previous pricing plan.

Interesting. Perhaps not enough folks were willing to use gogo under the previous pricing plan.

Although Airtran / Gogo likely went through a market research process to find the optimal initial price, it will take some real data to define a stable market price - and I think we're in the midst of that now. I did use Gogo on every Airtran flight when I had a promo code, but have yet to pay for it.

While I perceive the value of Boingo Unlimited at $9.95/month at the airport, I am unwilling to pay for Gogo on a per flight basis (if there was a $5/month roaming agreement between the two, I would probably sign-up).

I think the codes I posted were only for people that had never used the system before and had not previously created an account. Or, they pulled the codes after they changed to the flat-rate pricing...or the codes were abused because they were shared on a long list of websites...

the codes they give out are for one-time use only. The only reoccuring code is the Elite code, and I think that ended on the 1st as I tried it today and didn't work.

the codes they give out are for one-time use only. The only reoccuring code is the Elite code, and I think that ended on the 1st as I tried it today and didn't work.

Yes. It expired on August 31st.

I got to try out Gogo's service about a month ago for free. (http://thetravellingadventurer.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/thursdays-travel-thought-29-surfing-in-the-air/) It was nice, but I don't see myself paying $9.95 for service on a flight that only lasts an hour or two (especially since you can't use it on the ground). Over at the Cranky Flier blog, Cranky made a comment about the low take rate that happens when any fee is charged for the service. (http://crankyflier.com/2009/08/26/talking-about-wifi-onboard-a-grumman-albatross/) When it's free, most people hop right on. When there's a charge, even if it's low, only about 8%-11% of travellers with wi-fi devices will get on. That doesn't bode well for any online provider.

It'll be interesting to see where Gogo will try to make money after it's installed on more planes on other airlines.

I used the Gogo service from ATL-LAX last week. The price was only $5.95, no coupon code required.

The connection speed was very slow. :td: Much slower than it was on a RIC-ATL flight about a month ago, the first time I used Gogo, and not adequate for streaming video. I was seated in Business Class so I didn't get a look at how many other passengers were using the wi-fi on my LAX flight, but I wonder if the slow speed might have been due to more people using it (flight was full).

Considering the battery on my laptop only lasts about 2 hours, and FL has no power ports, I probably won't even bother with Gogo again unless the speed improves. Not worth even $5.95 to me, especially since I have an AT&T air card that can get me on the internet just about anywhere on the ground.

The speed was fast considering the connection is via satellite. I had no problems logging in (I had to create a new account with Gogo) and I did not even had to provide a credit card since I had a code.

Actually the gogo service is a terrestrial service, not a satellite one. Row44's service is satellite-based. The gogo service is essentially a cell phone radio (though more powerful for range reasons) mounted to the plane and a wifi router on-board. The speeds are comparable to those of a EvDO or GPRS connection (~1.2Mbit), shared amongst everyone on the plane. Obviously if one person hogs the bandwidth then it won't be so fast for everyone else, but generally speaking that should be enough for most activities.