Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. 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.
American Airlines began testing free in-flight Wi-Fi back in February. This test was limited to three routes to evaluate capacity and how well things worked in flight. In April, American announced that free Wi-Fi would begin rolling out in January 2026. It looks like that timetable is holding and we might even see it released sooner than that promised date.
Aviation watchdog, @JonNYC reported today that testing will begin ASAP for the free Wi-Fi sponsored by AT&T. American’s AAdvantage® members will have access to the complimentary service as it rolls out. Passengers will learn if their specific flights have the free service after they board.
When it comes to in-flight Wi-Fi, American is by far the most expensive and uncompetitive. Frequently, I see rates of $15, $19, or even $35 for a flight. Delta offers free, fast Wi-Fi for SkyMiles® members and United charges its MileagePlus members a consistent $8 (this will be become free once United rolls out its partnership with Starlink and the high-speed satellite service begins appearing on more aircraft).
Back in April, Heather Garboden, Chief Customer Officer at American Airlines, shared:
Our customers greatly value staying connected while in the air, whether communicating with friends, getting work done, checking in on social media or streaming their favorite subscription services. We’ve been working diligently to outfit our aircraft with best-in-class high-speed Wi-Fi and together with AT&T are proud to offer those services at no cost to our most loyal customers.”
Once complete, American will become aligned with Delta in terms of speed and cost. Once United has Starlink rolled out, it will take the top spot as the speeds there will lap what AT&T and T-Mobile offer.
Anthony’s Take: I flew a good number of American flights this year and began paying $50 per month for an unlimited monthly Wi-Fi pass as the individual flight prices were so high. I can’t wait for this to be free as I know I’ll be flying more on American Airlines thanks to my newly minted Executive Platinum status.
(Image Credits: American Airlines.)
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
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.
