American Airlines has begun rolling out free in-flight wi-fi, foreshadowing the end of $10 to $30 fees to browse the internet at 35,000 feet.
However, there is a catch. Passengers will need to be enrolled in the carrier's “AAdvantage” loyalty program to log on at no extra charge.
The wi-fi, delivered via telecom firm AT&T, will be accessed through an upgraded aainflight.com portal, where flyers can log in using their AAdvantage number and select “free wi-fi” to start browsing. Non-members can sign up before their trip at aa.com or from their seat during the flight.
The rollout will happen in phases, starting this week, with American’s narrowbody 737s and A320s and dual-class Embraer and Bombardier regional jets first in line for the upgrade.
American Airlines said that by spring 2026, free wi-fi will be available on nearly every American Airlines flight.
Wi-fi has increasingly become a perk that airlines compete on, with American’s Chief Customer Officer, Heather Garboden, claiming in a statement that the airline is leading the way by “setting the standard for connectivity in the skies.”
However, some would argue that it’s United Airlines that’s the trailblazer when it comes to in-flight wi-fi. In October, it became the first major airline to offer free Starlink wifi on a mainline flight. Though, as with American, only loyalty program members can use it.
Starlink is much faster than the traditional satellite system used by American, because it uses low-orbit satellites that are closer to Earth, thereby reducing latency.
You can expect download speeds of up to 250 Mbps with Starlink, compared to roughly 60 Mbps on American’s AT&T-branded network.
United said it expects to install Starlink on up to 15 mainline 737-800 planes each month.
Delta, American’s other major rival, offers complimentary wi-fi to loyalty program customers on most domestic and many international flights. But like American, the Delta satellite system is not ultra-fast.
The only U.S. airline to offer free wi-fi without the need to sign up to a loyalty scheme is JetBlue, which offers a (non-Starlink) high-speed service gate-to-gate for all passengers.
