It’s finally here. I’m happy that I’m able to write this story.
According to a press release this morning, American Airlines is set to begin offering free inflight Wi-Fi on most of its aircraft starting in January 2026. In a partnership with AT&T, “American will offer free inflight connectivity on more planes than any other domestic carrier.” Passengers must join the AAdvantage program for this free Wi-Fi.
Free Wi-Fi will be offered on aircraft equipped with Viasat, which the airline notes that it accounts “…for roughly 90% of its fleet.” This means that free connectivity will be available on most narrowbody jets but just a few widebody aircraft (the new Boeing 787-9 deliveries).
The only issue? We’re going to have to wait until January 2026. Until then, the airline will “…outfit more than 500 regional aircraft with high-speed Wi-Fi by the end of 2025, in time for next year’s complimentary Wi-Fi service.”
At the beginning of March, American Airlines began testing free Wi-Fi on three select domestic routes. The airline states that this testing “…surpassed performance expectations,” which is good to hear. Free Wi-Fi can hurt connection speeds, and this is one of the things American had been testing. Viasat is generally capable of free Wi-Fi, as we’ve seen other airlines do it, and this testing looks like it proved the same.
Passengers must be part of the AAdvantage program to access free Wi-Fi, which will help boost program membership for the airline. I do wonder how this will work for AAdvantage members flying American via codeshares. For example, how will I, as an AAdvantage member, still get free Wi-Fi if I booked through Japan Airlines? Will it be separate from the booking and prompt a login during the flight (which is how it is now)? We’ll have to see how this will all work.
This was Inevitable
I’ve highly critiqued American Airlines and its inflight connectivity over the past few years, as the airline has fallen behind Delta and United in offering free Wi-Fi at reasonable price points. For example, a recent flight of mine from Boston to Chicago had Wi-Fi offered at a whopping $24 for the 2 hour flight, while United on the same route had theirs going for $8. It’s the same Viasat Wi-Fi! This unfortunately has been the norm on American.
Delta has already offered free Wi-Fi on domestic flights for several years and is now working on rolling it out on international routes. United, meanwhile, is working on delivering free Starlink Wi-Fi in the coming future.
These developments among American’s rivals had many of us thinking that the airline would cave in and offer free Wi-Fi at some point, and it’s now here.
Although we’ll have to wait until January, this is a good first step for the long-overdue improvements in passenger experience on American Airlines flights. They’re still behind when it comes to inflight entertainment, and I don’t know if we’ll see a change in that area for a while. In a way, the airline’s interiors have been stuck in 2018.
Either way, this is great news for all American Airlines passengers.
All photos taken by the author.
