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Whether you travel in first, business, or economy class, having Wi-Fi access on your flight can make it more enjoyable. This can be particularly important on transcontinental flights and long international flights.
Some passengers just want to be able to talk with friends or browse the web, while others are traveling for work; either way, having Wi-Fi inflight could make their lives much easier.
Whether you’re looking for some entertainment or trying to finish a project, Gogo inflight Wi-Fi could be an important part of your flying experience.
Gogo is an inflight broadband Wi-Fi provider that serves around 20 airlines and is installed on thousands of aircraft.
The Gogo inflight network allows travelers to access the internet to respond to send messages, email, browse, and stream.
Airlines from around the world utilize Gogo to provide Wi-Fi access for their passengers.
The Gogo inflight network has improved significantly since it was first launched on commercial aircraft over a decade ago.
That being said, Wi-Fi speeds remain inconsistent since some planes are still outfitted with air-to-ground (ATG) systems. This is significantly slower than Gogo’s newer satellite system.
On planes using the older ATG systems, load speeds can become frustratingly slow if most people on your flight decide to use Wi-Fi. Since T-Mobile partners with Gogo to provide its Magenta plan customers with 1 hour of Wi-Fi for free, this can result in what amounts to a traffic jam on the inflight network.
As Gogo rolls out its newest product, a satellite system known as 2Ku, passengers should experience up to 20 times more bandwidth than the older ATG connection.
Gogo’s older system does not cover the entire globe, and when on a long-haul flight, there’s a good chance you’ll cross through a dead zone at some point and lose Wi-Fi.
With Gogo 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi, the network will be vastly improved, covering much of the world, as you can see from the map above.
Gogo announced that it will be launching its 5G network in 2021 for regional and mainline commercial jets flying within the contiguous U.S. and Canada. The 5G network will provide passengers with fast and uninterrupted connectivity when flying over urban and non-urban areas.
Unfortunately, if your flight is utilizing the ATG system, it is not possible to stream video. There is good news, though! The newer 2Ku satellite system does support video.
For participating airlines, Gogo allows you to purchase hourly and day internet passes and plans prior to flights. If you forget to do so before your flight, you can still purchase a pass inflight (although it may be more expensive).
Currently, 4 of Gogo’s airline partners participate in these passes: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
| Gogo Passes | Valid Airlines | |
| 1-Hour Pass | $7 | Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines |
| All-Day Pass | $19 | Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines |
| Delta Global Day Pass | $28 | Delta Air Lines |
If you travel regularly, you might be better off purchasing one of its 4 subscription plans.
| Gogo Subscription Plans | Valid Airlines | |
| Monthly Airline Plan | $49.95 per month | Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines |
| 2-Device Plan | $59.95 per month | Delta Air Lines |
| Global Delta Plan | $69.95 per month | Delta Air Lines |
| Annual Airline Plan | $599 per year | Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines |
Make sure you read the details about each plan to ensure it covers your needs. If you have a lot of upcoming domestic travel, a global plan might not be necessary. If you will be traveling internationally, though, a global plan would be vital.
As you can see from Gogo’s pricing plans above, inflight Wi-Fi is not cheap. Fortunately, there are a few credit cards that provide Gogo Wi-Fi passes as part of their perks, valid on domestic and international flights.
| Credit Card | Number of Free Gogo Passes | Credit Card Annual Fee |
| UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card | 12 | $495 |
| Crystal® Visa Infinite® Credit Card | 12 | $400 |
Even if you will need more Gogo Wi-Fi passes, knocking out some of the cost is a great benefit from these cards!
Hot Tip: Want to learn more about how inflight Wi-Fi works? Check out our article: Airplane Wi-Fi — How It Works, Airline Availability, Fees, & More.
Whether purchasing Gogo’s inflight Wi-Fi is worth it to you will be determined by several factors.
Business travelers with tight deadlines might find internet access a must on all flights. However, leisure travelers on short flights might see the price and decide they’d be happy to read a book instead.
At this point, almost all travelers expect access to an inflight Wi-Fi network. Gogo continues to roll out a better product, but it’s not cheap.
However, staying connected to the world outside of their plane can be valuable to travelers of all sorts.
The information regarding the Crystal® Visa Infinite® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
Gogo provides inflight Wi-Fi on thousands of planes across 20 commercial airlines. Depending on the type of Wi-Fi provided (air-to-ground or satellite), passengers can send and receive messages using messaging apps, read emails, browse the web, or stream video content (if the service supports this).
You can purchase a pass or a plan prior to or during your flight. You then simply log in to your Gogo account to redeem your day pass/plan.
Prices vary from a 1-hour pass for $7 to $599 for an annual subscription plan.
Currently, Gogo operates 2 different inflight Wi-Fi systems. One is an air-to-ground (ATG) system while the other is a satellite system. Gogo is in the process of rolling out the latest satellite system (2Ku) that will be the fastest inflight Wi-Fi available.
Gogo does not currently support inflight video streaming. However, its 2Ku satellite system has the necessary speeds to allow travelers to watch videos.
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13 comments
Christopher DAngelo
March 28, 2019
Gogo Inflight has to be the worst service in any industry on the planet. Consistently and persistently slow or frozen, repeated dropped connections. If they were honest, they would shut it down or at least run banners that you are going to be wasting your money and time. Every penny spent on Gogo Inflight is $10 too much!
Alex Miller
March 28, 2019
Hey Christopher – thank you for sharing your experiences with GoGo Inflight…and sorry to hear that they cause you so many issues. Hopefully they will continue to improve as there’s definitely competition around.
ldplatt
May 08, 2019
With United Wifi my experience is that Gogo does not work on most of their planes when there is the United wifi. Has this changed? Is there a separate plan that covers both?
Stephen Au
May 22, 2019
Hey Idplatt,
The way it works is United has several Wi-Fi providers and it depends on the coverage network, airplane, and routes you’re flying on. Some that come to mind are Gogo, Panasonic, ViaSat, OnAir, and Thales. The only way to get coverage for all of United’s providers is to purchase a Wi-Fi subscription from United Airlines.
Find out more here:
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/subscription/wifi
Robert
August 19, 2019
I recently canceled my Business Platinum Amex card and it looks like they clawed back my gogo flight passes, very disappointing.
Irene
December 03, 2019
It would seem, from various sources, that this [unlimited] Gogo inflight Wifi is only a privilege for Apple users. Way to screw everyone else AA.
jeph36
July 07, 2020
I am unable to find where to look to see how many free Gogo passes I have on my account. I can login to the Gogo account, but it does not have a balance of free passes any more (from either my CNB Crystal Visa or my Altitude Reserve). Does anyone know how to check this balance?
Jarrod West
July 13, 2020
Hi Jeph36,
So you can log into your account but it no longer shows your balance of free passes? Have you tried contacting Gogo directly to see why this is?
Jeremy
February 14, 2021
Here recently the t-mobile banner has just disappeared on AA flights as well as DL and on DL the free DL banner has disappeared to and no one can tell me why. Is it a setting on my iPhone or what?
Jarrod West
February 17, 2021
Hi Jeremy,
I’m not sure what you mean exactly – what t-mobile banner are you referring to?
Sam
February 05, 2022
Can I purchase wifi for my husbands flight from my phone?
Jarrod West
February 08, 2022
Hi Sam,
I do not believe so. Ordinarily, purchases need to come from the device you’re purchasing for.
Sam
May 04, 2023
I recently flew on alaskaair. used the alaskair app, but the in-flight entertainment would not load. Is there some phone or internet settings I need to change. I hear there is livehelp at gogo, but can’t find that.
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