In a move that’s sure to endear passengers having to endure flying during the holidays, Google has teamed up with Virgin Airlines to give them free WiFi during the holiday season.

Called ‘Flying in a WiFi Wonderland’, the promotion by the two California-based companies is supposed to run from November 10 this year to January 15 next year. Google will foot the usual $13 bill for WiFi service on Virgin America airplanes, which are all equipped with in-flight Internet via Aircell. 

In a press release, Google Product Marketing Manager Jeff Aguero said people can now use email to keep in contact with people, do last-minute shopping, or just plain old Internet surfing to  look for important (or trivial) facts and bits of knowledge while mid-air. And this service, Aguero said, was all for free.

A number of analysts lauded the report, saying this would generally generate good will for the two companies—but more so for Virgin America.  Given how most people (and companies) are still recovering from the recession, the airline company is hoping to generate more business with passengers opting for the free Internet service.

However, some have expressed worry how the in-flight Internet system can handle with passengers accessing the Internet all at the same time.

In a recent survey, more than half of Virgin America flyers polled had said they would choose an airline with available WiFi service over others. Likewise, the airline reported that 12 to 15 percent of their overall flyers—both business and leisure travelers—use their WiFi service. Meanwhile, 20 to 25 percent of their flyers log on to the Internet in their long-haul routes like Boston to San Francisco.  

In that same survey, email was the most popular activity among the Virgin American flyers with working remotely and social media in second and third place.

Last May, Virgin Airlines was the first airline to offer WiFi on their fleet of airplanes (called Gogo Inflight WiFi Service) as well as power outlets in every seat. For those traveling this holiday, Google and Virgin set up a website, freeholidaywifi.com, for details on their promotion. (Joseph N)

Source: Engadget, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, GoogleBlog, Yahoo News, AOL Money,