Southwest Airlines has announced free Wi-Fi for its Rapid Rewards members, with a start date of 24 October 2025. The carrier will deliver the free connectivity in a partnership with T-Mobile.
This move marks the beginning of free connectivity for more than 800 aircraft, making Southwest the largest domestic airline to offer free Wi-Fi on every flight this year.
Currently, Southwest offers Wi-Fi for $8 a leg. While this will come as a fair amount of savings for passengers, this will also aid the airline in loyalty program sign-ups, a model that many other US airlines have adopted in recent years.
“We’re pleased to partner with T-Mobile to bring free WiFi to all Rapid Rewards Members. This is part of our ongoing commitment to elevate the cabin experience, with free WiFi being just one of the many enhancements Customers will see in the months ahead,” said Tony Roach, Executive Vice President, Chief Customer & Brand Officer at Southwest Airlines.
Southwest currently has a mix of Anuvu and Viasat systems in its fleet.
While Viasat has sufficient bandwidth to support a flight operated with free Wi-Fi, Anuvu does not and remains a thorn in the airline’s side. The legacy system will struggle mightily with the increased usage that comes with a free offering.
While the free Wi-Fi looks good on paper, the speeds will be a roll of the dice and an inconsistent passenger experience.
This is in contrast to American’s approach in delivering free Wi-Fi, beginning in January 2026. Here, the carrier opted to offer free connectivity only on Viasat and Intelsat-equipped aircraft, which covers 90% of its fleet, mostly narrowbody. Meanwhile, aircraft equipped with Panasonic systems, mostly widebody aircraft, will not see free connectivity due to the insufficient bandwidth to support a free offering.
Featured image by the author.
