Wi-Fi on Delta airlines, Part 2

Delta airlines is rolling out a wireless in-flight Internet access service called GoGo from Aircell. I just flew between New York City and Florida and both flights had Wi-Fi Internet access.

According to a blog on Delta's website, they had 13 planes with Wi-Fi on January 23, 2009. By February 9th, they had it installed on 20 planes. Then they added 5 planes in the next nine days and 25 in the following 23 days. By mid-March Wi-Fi Internet access was available on "just over 15% of the domestic mainline fleet" and they were adding more than a plane a day. Then they added 9 planes in 5 days, followed by 18 planes in the following 9 days. As of yesterday (March 27th) "There are now 77 Wi-Fi equipped planes in the Delta fleet which is nearly 25% of our domestic fleet."

Where is this going?

Delta's blogger, Chris B., says "every a/c in the MD88, MD90, 737, 757-200 and 767-300 (domestic) fleets will be fitted with Wi-Fi. Additionally, we’ll begin installs on the A319 and A320 fleets beginning in late 2009/2010." According to the Gogo website, the service will be available on 300 Delta planes by the end of 2009.
 
When I first wrote about Wi-Fi on Delta, I couldn't find any information at Delta's website searching on the usual keywords. Fortunately the blog has links to a page introducing the Gogo service and a not particularly informative FAQ. The Gogo service is also on twitter.

Neither Delta.com page addresses the issue of signing up for the service on the ground. Personally, I'm hesitant to enter sensitive information on a public Wi-Fi network, HTTPS or no HTTPS. It's a long story, but HTTPs does not, in all cases, guarantee that the data you enter is secure. Then too, you never know what eyes, be they human or camera, are watching.

Delta doesn't yet let their customers know ahead of time which flights are Wi-Fi enabled (Virgin airlines does). No doubt, this is, in part, due to the fact that they don't know until late in the game which specific plane will be used. If you travel with binoculars, the Delta blog lists the Tail Numbers of the Wi-Fi enabled planes.  You can also look for this decal on the outside of the plane.
     
When booking a Delta flight, your odds are much better on an MD88. Here is their current tally:
MD88 - 71 aircraft
MD90 - 1 aircraft
B757-200 – 5 aircraft

GOGO ON THE GROUND

One question in the FAQ,  Can I use Gogo in the airport terminal?, stood out for me. The answer is:

Gogo is available only onboard and does not become active until the plane has reached a minimum altitude of 10,000 feet. Conversely, when the plane descends below 10,000 feet, Gogo will no longer be available.

Despite this, I saw a Wi-Fi network called "gogoinflight" (their official name) in the Delta terminal.

Perhaps the pilot forgot to turn off the service and it was coming from the plane? At the time, I was sitting very close to the plane (maybe 25 feet or so) and the only thing between the plane and my computer was a glass wall.

Then again, it might have been coming from a club lounge.

Or, it could have been a phishing expedition. That is, it could have been a network run by a bad guy trying to fool Delta customers that hadn't read the hard-to-find FAQ.

You'd think after spending all the time/money/effort on installing the service that either Aircell or Delta would provide a pamphlet describing the service either on the plane in the seat-back or at the terminal. If they do, I didn't see it.

Update April 4, 2009: For an explanation from Aircell about why the "gogoinflight" network shows up in the airport terminal, see Gogo Wi-Fi not in flight, but on the ground.