One of the few actual advances in air travel recently is inflight Internet service. And Gogo Inflight Internet, the service provider for American, Delta, United and AirTran, has given me a promo code to pass along so you can try it free.

Given the recent airline merger, huge financial losses in the industry, change fees, increased baggage fees, seat-selection fees on some carriers, capacity cuts, weather delays and other harsh realities of the business, there hasn’t been much else to cheer about. But now you can stay connected, informed and entertained with Wi-Fi on a growing number of U.S. flights.

If you haven’t used Gogo before, sign up on your next Internet-equipped flight, enter this code and try it out at no charge: 2285919280gzg

The offer is good through Jan. 7, 2010, which covers the busy holiday travel season. So print out the code and carry it on your next flight and feel free to pass it along to your friends. If this code gets used more than any others, I’ll even get to use GoGo for a year free—so help me out and I can post more from the air!

GoGo is also offering a free-use promotion on Virgin America flights from Nov. 10, 2009 through Jan. 15, 2010. No code is needed.

Connection prices usually range from $5.95 to $12.95, depending on the length of the flight and the type of device being used.

Here are just a few cool things you can do with Gogo:

• Check your e-mail and impress your friends by sending them messages from 31,000 feet
• Check your work e-mail and impress your bosses by showing them you’re still on the job at 31,000 feet
• Track your flight and see your routing, speed and altitude
• Update your friends on Facebook or MySpace, send tweets on Twitter and instant messages
• Keep up with the latest news and scores from the big game
• Play online games
• Watch streaming video from your Slingbox or movie downloads
• Plan your next trip or check arrival information on your airline’s website
• Check stock prices
• Order your friends’ gifts while shoppers on the ground are caught in traffic jams.

I’ve used Gogo several times on American, my carrier of choice. AA is rolling out the service on a growing number of MD80, 767 and 737 planes on domestic routes. Across all the airlines, more than 600 planes are now equipped with the service.

The technology does not work on overseas flights. Aircell’s Gogo service operates by turning the entire plane into a Wi-Fi hotspot and connecting to a series of ground stations across the U.S.

Connection speeds have been good, comparable to a typical DSL line or mobile broadband. Gogo is best when used on a laptop or netbook because of the bigger screen. But you can also use it with your Wi-Fi equipped smartphone or MP3 player, such as the iPod Touch. Before you leave, make sure your batteries are charged and pack adapters for those planes with power ports.

An interesting site for almost real-time flight tracking is FlightAware or the mobile version for your smartphone.

For me, Gogo makes the time pass much more quickly. Many domestic flights don’t have much in the way of inflight entertainment. With Gogo, you bring your own entertainment or squeeze in a few extra hours of work.

So try it out as a gift from Gogo and Practical Travel Gear. Then come back and leave your comments here about web surfing from the air.

UPDATE

And while you’re waiting for your plane, free Wi-Fi service is available during the holidays in the terminals at 47 U.S. airports. Google is sponsoring the program through Jan. 15, 2010.

The list of participating airports includes Boston, Houston, St. Louis, Nashville and San Diego.

It’s a nice offer, especially if your flight gets delayed. But free Wi-Fi was already available at more than one-third of the airports on the list, including Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, West Palm Beach, San Diego and San Antonio.

For a list of more airports which were already offering free wireless Internet access, see the latest Wi-Fi Freespot directory.