As I’ve explained many times before, inflight Wi-Fi has really changed my ability to travel. As someone who can work from a laptop with an internet connection anywhere in the world, it greatly reduces the “opportunity cost” of time I spend on planes. Given the amount of domestic flying I do, a Gogo Unlimited monthly membership is a no brainer, regardless of the cost. Of course I’d rather pay less than more, but that applies to just about every aspect of my life.
Unfortunately this picture wasn’t taken on a Gogo equipped aircraft
Gogo has been raising their prices for Wi-Fi over the years, which is understandable, given that the number of planes with Wi-Fi connectivity has been increasing as well. Furthermore, Gogo has been investing in better technology for inflight Wi-Fi, in hopes of increasing the speed of the service drastically.
However, up until now Gogo has typically been grandfathering in existing members at the old rates, meaning I haven’t really been impacted by price increases.
Well, it looks like that’s finally about to change, as I’ll be paying $59.95 rather than $44.95 for my Gogo Unlimited plan starting next month.
Here’s the email I just received from Gogo:
Dear Ben,
We want to inform you of changes to your Gogo Unlimited subscription.
Since purchasing your subscription over a year ago, your price has remained unchanged for the past year despite increased prices for all new customers. Effective 06/27/2015, the price of your Gogo service is scheduled to increase from $44.95/month to $59.95/month and is guaranteed for the subsequent year.
No action is required to continue your subscription. You may cancel your subscription at any time by emailing us at [email protected] or visiting Customer Care for more information.
Gogo Unlimited remains our best value for frequent travelers on our participating airlines, offering savings up to 50% compared to purchasing all-day internet access in-flight on two round trip flights.*
Please note that the participating airlines included in the Gogo Unlimited subscription are subject to change at any time without notice. Click here to view a list of participating airlines and check back regularly for the most up-to-date information on the Gogo Unlimited subscription’s participating airlines.
Continuous investment in technology will enhance your inflight experience
We continue to invest aggressively in our technology to meet increasing demand for bandwidth and to deliver reliable connectivity.
ATG4, our next generation Air-To-Ground technology, delivers 3x the bandwidth to aircraft in North America compared to our standard ATG technology. We’re in the process of upgrading all ATG-equipped aircraft to ATG4. Currently, more than one-third of ATG-equipped aircraft have been upgraded, and we expect that number to jump to 50% by the end of this year.
Our satellite solutions provide connectivity on international and select domestic flights. These technologies will provide an improved experience across all flights, and allow even more passengers to stay connected on long-haul international trips.
Ku, launched in 2014, is available on Delta Air Lines’ international fleet and will be available on most aircraft by the end of this year.
2Ku, which delivers 20x the bandwidth of ATG, is expected to launch by the end of this year.
Expanding our North American coverage
In 2014, we expanded our North American coverage to provide seamless connectivity on flights across the U.S. and Canada with additional cell towers throughout both countries. We plan on building even more towers over the next year, which, along with ATG4, will offer more reliable connections throughout our existing North American network.Thank you for your loyalty and your business,
The Gogo team*Savings vs. 4 all day passes purchased in-flight
Of course I’m not happy about having to pay an extra $15 per month for Wi-Fi, but at the same time I can’t blame them for raising prices, and it also doesn’t ultimately impact my demand for inflight Wi-Fi, which is quite inelastic.
For those of you that have previously been grandfathered in at the old rates, do these price increases impact your willingness to pay for a monthly Gogo membership?
I just got the email notice of increase today. I'm going from $39.95 to $59.95 (50% increase). I am an AA/US/AS flyer but this year I am doing fewer segments than in the past (still will hit highest AA status). It's enough of an increase to make me pause, because I've also experienced slow service that causes my VPN to drop off from time to time. However, when you look at the per flight charges...
I just got the email notice of increase today. I'm going from $39.95 to $59.95 (50% increase). I am an AA/US/AS flyer but this year I am doing fewer segments than in the past (still will hit highest AA status). It's enough of an increase to make me pause, because I've also experienced slow service that causes my VPN to drop off from time to time. However, when you look at the per flight charges I can't really justify not having the monthly because even 4 segments is always going to cost more than the monthly.
I wish I could just disconnect when I'm flying, but even when I don't have to work, I can clean up some of my personal email that backs up during the week. When I end up on the rare non-Gogo plane, I feel so lost these days.
Use to consult there. What a mess. That said, 3x speed of crap is still crap. Ben's probably just checking email and uploading his blog, not much of a bandwidth hog.
I forget the exact #s, but I believe their "slower" speeds were 1.5M...shared among the WHOLE plane. What was particularly disturbing is the pilots would all get together on a unlimited plan, and share it in their pool of 10-15 pilots for each pool....
Use to consult there. What a mess. That said, 3x speed of crap is still crap. Ben's probably just checking email and uploading his blog, not much of a bandwidth hog.
I forget the exact #s, but I believe their "slower" speeds were 1.5M...shared among the WHOLE plane. What was particularly disturbing is the pilots would all get together on a unlimited plan, and share it in their pool of 10-15 pilots for each pool. Soo, even if you see all of F asleep, you can be assured the pilots are sucking up what is available.
Typically the biggest planes are the ones w/ the faster speeds. Well, there are 2-3 times the # of pax on them too, that's how they justify putting in the Sat. communications (which is pretty expensive for them) b/c on the bigger planes, they know the %age uptake and what the, rough, usage will be.
Finally, it isn't the F cabin that sucks the bandwidth most of the time. it's the pilots streaming video or coach w/ the family of 4 with 2 kids streaming some game. F is usually trying to do work, which generally equates to lower overall usage of bandwidth.
GoGo is so freaking slow that I don't even bother. It just raises my blood pressure. Maybe I've had bad luck?
@ Gene -- It is sometimes slow, but I use it mostly for email/writing blog posts, which doesn't require much bandwidth.
Interesting. Price increases before the service can be sampled by existing loyal customers. Marketing talk about speed. Not a word about security improvements. Buyer beware.
With Amex Platinum, shouldn't be an issue. Correct?
@ Sam K. -- Correct.
I'm grandfathered into an AA/US unlimited plan for $39.95 a month. I enrolled around January 2014. I haven't received any notice of price increase either.
I've not received a notice either (on an unlimited AA/US plan for $50/month). As I'm on a plane, I just took a look at the single flight pass option: $29.95 for BOS to PHX. Ouch. And the service has been less reliable on this flight than in recent memory, so it sounds like they're trying to reduce demand with the higher prices, in order to increase the quality, something you mentioned in a previous post.
@ Dylan -- Damn, those are some high prices!
Haven't received notice and I'm still at $39.95 from a couple of years ago. If price goes up I'll still pay, but I'd argue their connection service is getting worse rather than better (I fly only AA).
Perhaps it is selective? I just checked my account and my US/AA pass is still $39.95 per month. Any higher and I'd probably cancel as I only use it a few hours a month.