Starting in January, members of the airline’s AAdvantage loyalty program will have free access to wireless internet on 90 percent of its fleet, the company said.
Beginning next year, if you catch an American Airlines flight, you won’t have to pay to watch shows or movies, keep up with the latest news or endlessly scroll your social media feeds to pass the time.
American Airlines will provide free high-speed Wi-Fi for its regular costumers on most flights, the company announced on Tuesday. In doing so, the airline will be among the last of the major domestic carriers to offer free internet connectivity.
The airline said that beginning in January 2026, members of its free AAdvantage loyalty program will have access to the wireless service, which will be available on 90 percent of the carrier’s fleet. The company said in a statement that it will be offering the perk on “more planes than any other domestic carrier.”
“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,” Heather Garboden, chief customer officer at American Airlines, said in the statement.
The airline will partner with AT&T to provide the service at no cost, it said. The connection will be powered by the satellite service providers Viasat and Intelsat, it added.
To connect, passengers will be required to enroll in the AAdvantage loyalty program, which accumulates loyalty points for travel with the carrier. Wi-Fi service, which is available on most of American’s routes, currently begins at $9.
The airline said that it is on pace to outfit more than 500 regional aircraft with high-speed wireless by the end of this year.
Other carriers already provide free Wi-Fi.
In 2023, Delta Air Lines introduced free Wi-Fi for most domestic flights through the airline’s SkyMiles program.
Last month, United Airlines announced that its free internet would be powered by Starlink, the satellite internet service founded by Elon Musk, and that some of its fleet will be equipped by the end of this year before rolling it out to every plane.
JetBlue began offering the wireless service as early as 2013 through its Fly-Fi — the airline’s free and unlimited broadband satellite internet service. And in 2003, Boeing announced its Wi-Fi service for passengers aboard a Lufthansa German Airlines Boeing 747-400 but discontinued the service in 2006, citing low demand for it.