Google to Offer Free In-flight Wi-Fi During the Holidays

Your holiday flying plans may have just gotten a little more pleasant. Google has announced plans to offer free Wi-Fi to passengers on a number of major airlines over the holiday season. Gogo, the in-flight Wi-Fi available on planes typically costs $11 per 24-hour period. If you're flying a few times during the holiday season then those costs could quickly add up if you want to surf during your travels.

Google did something similar last year offering free Wi-Fi exclusively on Virgin American flights as well as 50 different airports across the U.S. This year the company won't be offering wifi in airports, but it will be extending the deal to a few additional major airlines besides just Virgin.

Passengers on AirTran, Delta, and Virgin America flights between November 20, 2010 and January 2, 2011 will be able to take advantage of the deal. Free Wi-Fi will end up being available on 700 different planes, reaching close to 15 million passengers over the whole holiday season.

In an official statement about the deal Google said: "For last year's promotion we experimented with providing a combination of free Wi-Fi in both airports and in-flight. This year we decided to focus on the in-flight experience and we are pleased to be working with three of the nation's leading carriers to bring free in-flight Wi-Fi to holiday travelers."

As someone who spends quite a bit of time in airports during December and January I am pretty excited about the news. I always debate whether or not purchasing the in-flight Wi-Fi will be "worth it." With the Wi-Fi being free, I no longer have to make that debate and can instead just pull out my laptop and surf away.

Free Wi-Fi during holiday time exposes the most customers possible to the service, simply because there will be more people flying in the first place. Offering the in-flight Wi-Fi service for free is also a pretty solid way to advertise the service for those who might be traveling later in the year. Sure, they may not be giving you money this time, but a few months down the line when they're making the same flight they might be more inclined to shell out the $11 to be able to be able to connect.

Do you ever purchase Wi-Fi when you fly? Do you see yourself using the Gogo service this holiday season while its free?