Airline wi-fi broadband service name – Gogo
There's revolution in the air. No, we're not talking about Apple's skinny laptop, but the air higher up in the atmosphere, above the clouds, where the big jets fly and airline passengers are separated from email and the Internet for hours on end.
Not anymore.
In mid-2008, Aircell will debut a new wireless Internet service available on the entire Virgin America fleet and select American Airlines routes. Passengers on these carriers, and eventually many others, will have wireless broadband access to email and the Internet anywhere over the continental United States and above 10,000 feet. Explains a company press release:
Aircell's exclusive air-to-ground broadband system will provide customers with an Internet connection, VPN (virtual private network) access, and e-mail capabilities through all Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, PDAs and portable gaming devices. Customers will experience speeds similar to wireless, mobile, broadband services on the ground. The Aircell system is designed to provide full data service - cell phone and Voice Over IP (Internet Protocol) services will not be available.
When Aircell was ready to name this revolutionary new service, they hired Igor to make it happen. The name had to be memorable, fun (kids will use it to play networked electronic games), short (to be printed on and in the planes and airline collateral material), universally known, easy to pronounce, and map if possible to both the travel experience and the Internet connectivity experience.
After project takeoff, we carefully considering hundreds of names, and boiled the positioning of the service down to its essence: mobility (email at 500 mph!), connectivity, and fun. When we landed we had the perfect name: Gogo.
The Internet on a plane, the airline mainline, wi-fi in the sky, or as Aircell calls it, "wi-fi with wings". Coming soon to a troposphere near you.