By anybody’s measure, the last year has been a big one for Aircell. The number of airline passengers using the company’s
Gogo in-flight Internet service grew at an exponential pace (Aircell is about to celebrate the two millionth passenger logon) just as the first business jet passengers started getting their first taste of a truly fast data connection, available anywhere over the continental U.S.
AIN had the chance to fly on a Falcon 20 equipped with the Aircell 3G Internet hardware a while back, but that was before the traveling masses started using the service and–as Aircell’s detractors claim will happen eventually–causing network slowdowns. A few months ago I boarded an AirTran flight from Newark to Atlanta and found–lo and behold–the Gogo service was available for a charge of about $10. Shortly after takeoff I logged on and was pleasantly surprised that the experience in my admittedly cramped airline seat was indeed “phenomenally great,” just as Aircell’s then-CEO Jack Blumenstein promised me it would be. A scan of Facebook and Twitter routinely provides virtual glimpses of happy Gogo users mid-flight–I once even saw an online message from Zack Braff, the star of the ABC comedy Scrubs, thanking the “geeks” at Aircell who made it possible for him to download MP3s at 35,000 feet.
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