How Travelers Use In-Flight Wi-Fi

With the rise of in-flight Wi-Fi, today’s jetsetters no longer have to forgo Internet connectivity at 35,000 feet.

How are we using this modern convenience? Researchers at Gogo — the in-flight Wi-Fi provider for American, Delta, United, Virgin and other airlines — sought to find out. Gogo analyzed its network data and has shared its findings with Mashable in infographic form.

The infographic, an extension of an earlier study that found that 80% of mobile travelers who connected to Gogo Internet did so via an iOS device in July, takes a colorful look at travelers’ mobile and social preferences. The data represents a combination of internal network analysis and customer surveys.

Especially of note: 67% of in-air Wi-Fi users are mixing business with pleasure — just 6% of travelers are taking an all-work-and-no-play approach to flying. Specifically, Facebook’s social network ruled the air from January to June of 2011, accounting for 61% of social network traffic. Twitter, by comparison, logged 22% of all social networking activity during the same period, LinkedIn attracted 10% of social traffic and Foursquare eked out 6%.

For the 79% of travelers who use a tablet in-flight and also still tote around a laptop, we feel your pain.