How Does In-Flight Wi-Fi Really Work?

Prior to the integration of in-flight Wi-Fi, most airline passengers passed their time at 30,000 feet completely disconnected from the world below them — but these days, that’s a highly uncommon occurrence. For instance, while writing this article on a short-haul United flight with broken Wi-Fi, I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been rendered email-less for even a couple of hours. Since this service has become so important in our lives — everywhere we go — I’d like to offer a closer look at in-flight Wi-Fi and how it actually works.