How fast & reliable is wifi on an airplane?

Can you get wifi on an airplane?

• in about a month, my dad and I are flying to Paris. I was just wondering if I will be able to connect to wifi with my phone, iPad or laptop. my phone has personal hotspot, but I know phones have to be off or in airplane mode. is there any way I will be able to connect to the Internet while in flight? 8 hours is a long time to be on a plane :P

• Answer:

  No you will not be able to get WiFi. Gogo Internet, the provider used by most if not all of the airlines with internet-equipped aircraft, does not work after a few hundred miles (if that) off the coast of the continental United States. International aircraft, for the most part, are not even equipped with WiFi. For instance only US Airways' Airbus 321s have WiFi. Delta has put it only on their domestic mainline fleet and is working on their regional jets, Southwest does not have it on all their airplanes yet. The main problem is that Gogo uses ground-based equipment whereas to do overseas they would have to use a satellite-based service.