Google to Sponsor Free Wi-Fi on Flights During Holidays

Google is going to cover the costs of in-flight wi-fi for passengers of AirTran, Virgin America and Delta from November 20 to January 2 of this year. The promotional campaign will serve two purposes - to entice people to pay the relatively nominal fees for in-flight wi-fi services as well as to get more people to use Google's web browser. Although several airlines have been offering wi-fi service, passengers are required to pay between $6 and $13 for access.

Given that wi-fi time is still limited due to take-off and landing procedures, many passengers have opted not to pay for it. Also working against a strong demand for wi-fi is that many people already have smartphones, laptops and other devices that contain entertaining content without the need to access the Internet.

There is almost certainly a market for wi-fi access in the air on cross-country flights, especially for business travelers and those who feel like they can get some work done while in the air. It's never going to be for everyone as a pay service, although there will likely be other ways to monetize the service outside of simply paying for it.

Google's push to get its browser in front of more users is probably the bigger marketing component to the campaign. Chrome is competing for market share against Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox browsers. Chrome will gain some market presence, but it has a stiff climb against its two established competitors.