American Airlines to make WIFI free on most of its fleet in 2026

[bjl584]

American Airlines to make Wi-Fi free on most of its fleet in 2026



American Airlines to make Wi-Fi free on most of its fleet in 2026


Published Tue, Apr 15 20256:00 AM EDT

Leslie Josephs@lesliejosephs
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Key Points

• American Airlines plans to offer inflight Wi-Fi for free in 2026.
• The service follows similar moves by JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines and, most recently, United Airlines.
• The complimentary service, sponsored by AT&T, will be available for members of American Airlines’ AAdvantage loyalty program.

In this article

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An American Airlines plane on the runway at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, on Oct. 25, 2024.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

American Airlines plans to offer Wi-Fi for free starting in January as more carriers opt for complimentary internet service for their loyalty program members, increasing pressure on holdouts.

The free Wi-Fi will be sponsored by AT&T and is available for members of American Airlines’ AAdvantage loyalty program, the airline said Tuesday. Read more CNBC airline news

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JetBlue Airways has offered complimentary inflight internet for years and Delta Air Lines started offering the free service to its SkyMiles loyalty program members in 2023.

United Airlines is in the process of outfitting its fleet with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Wi-Fi, which will be free for members of its loyalty program, MileagePlus.

American Airlines’ inflight Wi-Fi routinely tops $20 per flight. The carrier said that starting in January, the free service will be available on its planes outfitted with Intelsat and Viasat satellite Wi-Fi, which will account for about 90% of its fleet by next year. Some of American’s older Boeing wide-bodies won’t have the service for free but will still have Wi-Fi available.

American Airlines had been testing the service on certain routes. It is also planning to install high-speed internet service on 500 regional planes by the end of next year, the airline said.

Southwest Airlines, one of the outliers in the industry, has not said whether it is considering free Wi-Fi on board.

[bjl584]

It's about time.
Everyone everywhere has free WIFI.
It seems that the airlines were the last holdout.

[ua_guy]

Q: How do we change the narrative about the fact we've had two mid-air collisions this year with helicopters?

A: Let's go with free wifi!

[disneysteve]

What an awful move. As if flying isn't stressful and uncomfortable enough, now we'll have to deal with every moron streaming TikTok and Reels without headphones and making WiFi phone calls on speaker.

[Fishindude77]

What an awful move. As if flying isn't stressful and uncomfortable enough, now we'll have to deal with every moron streaming TikTok and Reels without headphones and making WiFi phone calls on speaker.

My thoughts also.
That was just about the last internet free sanctuary we had.

[ua_guy]

I'm not terribly concerned with that...listening to devices on planes without headphones is already taboo, and is something I believe flight crew address. Hard to say what will happen with telephone calls, but, those can also be taken with a headset as well. Free internet may not be robust enough to support streaming anyway.

Internet has been available on most carriers either free (as a perk with a TMobile plan, on Alaska) or as a pay-per-flight, or via Go-go subscription. Nothing new there.

[disneysteve]

I'm not terribly concerned with that...listening to devices on planes without headphones is already taboo, and is something I believe flight crew address. Hard to say what will happen with telephone calls, but, those can also be taken with a headset as well. Free internet may not be robust enough to support streaming anyway.

Internet has been available on most carriers either free (as a perk with a TMobile plan, on Alaska) or as a pay-per-flight, or via Go-go subscription. Nothing new there.

I don't think many took advantage of it as a paid service. I certainly didn't. I just made sure to download a few Netflix shows to my tablet and watched those with headphones. I hope flight attendants enforce the headphone rule, though honestly even with headphones if someone has the volume high enough it can easily be heard by those around them. And most people speak very loudly when on their cell phone for whatever reason so even without speakerphone, that would be quite annoying if the person next to me decides to have a 2-hour conversation.