Delta, AirTran and Virgin America are all participating in the free Wi-Fi offer on all domestic U.S. flights, powered by Gogo. Last year, the offer was valid only on Virgin flights, and at 47 U.S. airports. A splash page will promote Google’s Chrome web browser.

Google wouldn’t explain why it’s ditching airports, only telling TechCrunch that it “decided to focus on the in-flight experience.” Maybe coordinating with all the airports and service providers was trickier than working with three airlines and one service, or maybe not enough people used the free airport Wi-Fi to make Google’s investment worthwhile. Whatever the reason for the change, I’m glad it happened.

You see, I have a slight disdain for airport Wi-Fi as a paid service. As 3G and 4G devices proliferate, the value of paying for Wi-Fi at the airport deteriorates. It’s useful if you’ve got a long layover, a laptop and a lot of work to do, but smartphones are perfectly capable of the basics, like checking e-mail and browsing the Web. That’s usually all I have time for after rushing through security anyway.

In the air, the Internet is a much scarcer resource, and it’s in higher demand. There are no alternatives, and if you’re a techie, you probably have increasing difficulty passing the time without the web. It’s worth paying for, and Google probably stands to gain more good will and to reach more people with in-flight Wi-Fi. By skipping airports and focusing on planes, Google is giving people Wi-Fi where they need it most.

In-flight Internet access and me have a checkered history. A few years ago, I was one of a bunch of journalists invited aboard an airborne press conference for Boeing’s ill-fated Connexion service, and the the service performed dismally in the demo, sputtering along and sometimes pooping out entirely. I would never have paid for it in that state–heck, I probably wouldn’t have bothered if it was free.

A couple of years ago, I forked over $27 to use Connexion on a real flight from Munich to San Francisco, and found it pokey but tolerable. But by then, Boeing had already announced it was killing Connexion, after investing who knows how many gazillions of dollars in launching it.

Anyhow, I’m pleased by the prospect of domestic Wi-Fi becoming available on Virgin America, American, Delta, and other carriers at not-insane prices (Virgin will charge $12.95 for flights over three hours). Virgin’s combination of Wi-Fi and AC power at every seat sounds unbeatable–once it’s up and running, I can’t think of an argument for flying any other carrier on a route that Virgin serves.

But I cheerfully acknowledge that in-flight Net isn’t necessarily an unalloyed boon. You could argue that any flight where you can’t get online provides a therapeutic time-out for those of us who otherwise spend too much time checking e-mail, consulting Wikipedia, perusing blogs, and performing other tasks which human beings got along without perfectly well until just a few years ago. And it’s true that I sort of like being forced to read books and magazines (printed materials! on real paper!) every so often. (I sometimes tote my Kindle, but even then I try to have a magazine or two on hand for takeoffs and landings.)

I’m still stoked, though. And let’s end this with a silly little T-Poll to see if there’s any consensus in the Technologizer community: