iOS devices comprise 2/3 of all in-flight WiFi users

Sun, Jul 31, 2011

News

Accessing the Internet for the first time while flying 30,000 feet up in the air is one of those “holy crap!” moments that make you marvel at the wonder of technology. While some airlines like Virgin America offer passengers free Wi-Fi service, others like Southwest offer it for a small service fee. But no matter what airline you’re flying, if you’re connecting to the web while thousands of feet above ground, odds are that you’re using an iOS device.

Gogo recently told AllThingsD that iPhones comprise nearly 2/3 of all mobile devices that connect to the web using its in-flight service. Following that is the iPod Touch which accounts for 20% of all Wi-Fi devices in the air. And pulling up the rear is Android with 12% and BlackBerry with 6% of devices that access the Internet mid-flight via Wi-Fi.

Mobile devices pay slightly lower fares on longer flights on Gogo, with access maxing out at $7.95, as compared to $12.95 for using a Mac or PC on those cross-country trips.

Tablets like the iPad were not included in these mobile numbers as such devices are counted with computers (and also pay the higher PC rates).

But the iPad is a popular frequent flier as well, accounting for more than a third of large screens using Gogo in June. All versions of Windows totalled 41 percent with Mac OS machines making up just under 20 percent.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out, however, that Gogo’s math doesn’t quite up. The iPhone and iPod Touch together account for nearly 86% of in-flight mobile devices connected to the web. The leaves 14% unaccounted for, a figure which inexplicably is surpassed by the sum of Android and BlackBerry devices alone.

Either way, here’s to Wi-Fi in the sky.

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