Virgin America to Offer Free Wi-Fi This Holiday Season

A captive audience is the best kind of audience if you're looking to expand a brand and gain customer base, and there's few places less captive-like than an airplane.

But that's not the only reason, I'm sure, that Google and Virgin America will offer free Wi-Fi on flights starting November 10 through next January 15.

According to a Google blog post alert I got in my e-mail yesterday, the effort is all about de-stressing holiday traveling. Having free Internet during travel, according to Google, will help travelers in more ways than one. You'll be able to do last-minute shopping, search for a great pie recipe and check e-mail to stay on top of family news. All that can help make visiting friends and family a bit smoother.

"The holidays can be full of dates and details to remember, and it's easy to get stressed out somewhere between planning a long distance, multi-generational family gathering and combing the Internet for the latest impossible-to-find furry contraption for your toddler. And when you have to do all that while coordinating air travel at the same time as several million of your closest friends, things can get downright dramatic," stated the e-mail note.

All you need to bring when traveling is a Wi-Fi enabled laptop or smartphone. You can check out which flights will have the service before you make travel plans.

Photo courtesy of Google