I decided to try the Gogo wifi service on a recent p.s. flight SFO-JFK. I paid $14.99, onboard (apparently, you can save a couple of bucks if you purchase in advance, as I learned later).
I was disappointed with the connection speed and, later, had this interaction with the Gogo help desk:
Gogo Rep: Welcome to Gogo. My name is Gogo Rep.
SeattleFred: Hi Gogo Rep. Is Gogo performance always so sluggish? On my UA SFO-JFK flight a few days ago, I had 0.19Mbs down and 0.12Mbs up. Pathetic and certainly not worth the $14.99 I paid.
Gogo Rep: Hello Fred, I am sorry to hear you are getting a slow connection. May I ask what in general you are using the service for? E-mail, videos or reading the news?
SeattleFred: At that speed, videos were not a possibility. All I could do was check email and visit simple websites. I was hoping to be able to connect to my server and fetch some files I needed.
Gogo Rep: I will check your flight. May I have your username to verify your account?
SeattleFred: Yes: SeattleFred
Gogo Rep: May I also have your flight number?
SeattleFred: UA870 on 3/xx/12
Gogo Rep: Pardon me, I though I was looking up your flight today. I am unable to check the conditions on a past flight. I can tell you that while Gogo does not support streaming media or large downloads. The service is usually quite reliable.
SeattleFred: As I asked in my first post: is Gogo performance always so sluggish? If so, I will not be purchasing it again. And I will alert my many traveling friends of what they can expect.
Gogo Rep: It is not always so sluggish, it is generally quite reliable when used within the supported parameters. There are a few factors which can slow the connection but they are uncommon and temporary.
SeattleFred: What speed should one expect? And what do you do for your customers when those expectations are not met?
Gogo Rep: The connection speed is comparable to your average public wifi connection. Taking your situation into consideration I can offer you a credit towards a future Gogo session. Shall I send that to SeattleFred@...?
SeattleFred: Yes, please do. That will give me a chance to try it again on my return flight. Thank you.
Gogo Rep: Is there anything else I can help you with today?
SeattleFred: Are you unable to be more specific on what speed connection I can expect? Public wifi connection speeds, as you know, vary widely.
Gogo Rep: If by "more specific" you mean a number then unfortunately I cannot.
SeattleFred: So, I guess I will have to live with your deliberately vague answer. If you have something more useful, I would like to know. Otherwise, thanks for your help.
Gogo Rep: Have a nice day. Thank you for choosing Gogo. Fly classy.
Gogo Rep has disconnected.
I am still waiting for the credit to arrive in my mailbox.