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Back in December, I wrote about how Air Canada would begin offering fast, free Wi-Fi in May 2025. Complimentary service will be available to Aeroplan Members on Wi-Fi equipped flights within North American and Sun markets (including Mexico and the Caribbean) starting today. This will be expanded to include long-haul international routes in 2026.
Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge, and most Air Canada Express aircraft now offer passengers the ability to stay connected at no charge with 88% of the fleet equipped with Wi-Fi. This initiative builds on the free Wi-Fi that has been granted to Premium Rouge passengers since 2022 and the texting service (sponsored by Bell) that was rolled out in May 2023 for Aeroplan Members.
Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President & Chief Operations Officer at Air Canada, said:
Quality connectivity has become indispensable for all travelers. Starting today we’re thrilled to offer complimentary Wi-Fi on North American, Mexican and Caribbean flights for Aeroplan Members, by partnering with Bell. This initiative underscores Air Canada’s focus on elevating the customer experience, with leadership in providing streaming quality connectivity, at a pace unmatched by other airlines — at home and around the world. We now offer Wi-Fi on 88 per cent of our fleet, with the remaining installations to be completed by early 2026. This will include an industry first with the upcoming launch of Wi-Fi on Air Canada Express Q400s serving Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.”
The Air Canada Express regional fleet of De Havilland Canada Q400 also known as “Dash 8,” turboprop aircraft will also include Wi-Fi. This will be the first fast, free Wi-Fi offering on any Q400 aircraft and puts Air Canada ahead of its competitor, Porter Airlines.
Delta Air Lines has been offering free Wi-Fi to its SkyMiles members for some time now. It grants Delta access to these passengers’ profiles, which they then sell to advertisers with messages that pop up as specially curated by American Express and other partners. There is more value in being able to secure this marketing spend than charging passengers for Wi-Fi. Some will never pay, but when it’s free almost everyone will opt in.
United Airlines announced back in September that Starlink will be installed on all United aircraft (more than 1,000 planes) over the next few years and that it will be free. While paying $8 as a MileagePlus member is not a big deal, the Wi-Fi is iffy. Sometimes it works and many times it does not. This will be an upgrade to the passenger experience and one that won’t cost customers anything in Wi-Fi fees.
Anthony’s Take: It’s great to see Air Canada offer free Wi-Fi across its fleet and having this even on regional jets is a real plus. Air Canada has done a lot to improve its passenger experience and just keeps making it better with initiatives like this one.
(Image Credits: Air Canada and United Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
