Tag Archives for free wifi.
Delta had a chance to move to Starlink, the inflight wifi system United is racing to install across its fleet. But an early SpaceX investor says the deal fell apart because Delta wanted Starlink behind its own branded portal — and now United may have the better passenger experience for years.
United’s free Starlink internet rollout is still supposed to take until the end of next year, but passengers are now reporting that free Wi-Fi has quietly spread to some non-Starlink aircraft as well. If that holds, it means United has started delivering one of the biggest quality-of-life upgrades in domestic flying faster and more broadly than it has publicly said.
American just made Wi-Fi free on most planes — but if you’re on the $50-a-month subscription, the charges keep coming unless you cancel. The monthly plan still bills even though it covers the same aircraft that now offer free access (the only difference is you can skip the AT&T ad), so it’s worth emailing subscription.wifi@aa.com right away.
American and Southwest made inflight Wi-Fi free—then Intellectual Ventures sued, claiming the airlines owe royalties on the technology behind onboard internet. A judge has now ordered American to produce technical records and source code as the case accelerates.
Starting today, WiFi is free on most American Airlines flights for AAdvantage members, putting American alongside Delta and JetBlue while United and Alaska head toward free Starlink service. The catch is rollout: not every aircraft is enabled yet, widebodies come later, and customers paying for monthly or annual WiFi plans should watch for billing until American clarifies cancellations and refunds.
I’m exactly who Southwest’s “new” model is supposed to win over: Austin-based, flying their monopoly DCA–AUS route, happy to pay for extra legroom and rarely checking a bag. But I still book away because their wifi is effectively useless, turning a “premium” seat into lost work time instead of an upgrade.
American is finally looking past ViaSat just as it makes inflight internet free. The airline is now in talks with Amazon about a new low Earth orbit WiFi system that could rival Starlink, but Amazon’s network is still years from full deployment — meaning even if a deal is signed soon, most flyers may not see the real upgrade until 2028.
With marketing dollars from T-mobile, Southwest will begin offering free wifi to Rapid Rewards members starting October 24. The problem is that Southwest currently offers the worst wifi among U.S. airlines.
Starting next year, Starlink will be free onboard Alaska flights for Atmos Rewards loyalty program members. Alaska’s full installation is expected in 2027. Until then, Alaska’s wifi works reasonably well on most aircraft for $8.
You may find yourself receiving free wifi on American Airlines starting Monday. That’s if you’re traveling on one of more than 50 flights where they’ll be testing the feature in advance of rolling it out across the system.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
