Surfing at 32,000 ft.

Yesterday I flew back on American from New York to Texas. Even though I have a bazillion miles on AA,  I have been avoiding them like the plague the last few years (don't get me started!).  These days I prefer Southwest or JetBlue... friendlier people, newer planes and convenient routes.  But on this trip, AA made sense so off I went. I have to say, I was somewhat giddy when I saw the friendly "Wi-Fi Onboard" sign!  As soon as allowed (ok, maybe a few minutes before) I logged on to GoGo (the provider) paid my $8 and started surfing.  The connection was flawless.  I checked email, posted to Twitter, checked in on Foursquare, sent text messages via Google Voice, browsed the news online and recorded a fascinating live video of me and my box of raisins!  I wanted to try Skype but the terms of service clearly stated no voice over IP calls.  Yeah, so anyway I can confirm it works too! While I was mostly goofing off, the ability to have Wi-Fi in flight is a game changer from a communication and productivity perspective.  Business travelers spend a lot of time sitting on airplanes and honestly I find that time generally pretty productive. The price of $8 for a 3 1/2 hour flight is reasonable and the connection was quite stable. My only complaint is that while you can share the service between mobile devices (although not simultaneously), you cannot switch between a mobile device and a laptop.  Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it would be nice.  Considering the airline industry is struggling to grow revenue, Wi-Fi is a potential gold mine.  I feel a lot better about paying $8 for internet access than $10 for a cold, stale turkey sandwich! Happy flying! Tom Cuthbert Full and fair disclosure:  I own Southwest Airlines (LUV) stock and am long.