Advertiser Disclosure
Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we may receive financial compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). However, the credit card information that we publish has been written and evaluated by experts who know these products inside out. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers that are on the market. See our advertising policy here where we list advertisers that we work with, and how we make money. You can also review our credit card rating methodology.
Daniel Ross
Senior Content Contributor
1065 Published Articles
Countries Visited: 80U.S. States Visited: 19
We may be compensated when you click on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.
Top Partner Offers
Platinum Card® from American Express
Apply Now(at Amex's secure site)
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Apply Now(at Amex's secure site)Free inflight Wi-Fi is the stuff that dreams are made of for frequent flyers and social media addicts alike.
American Airlines is making that dream a reality for some passengers as the carrier is rolling out free Wi-Fi on some of its narrow-body fleet from April 13 through May 25, 2022.
Whether it’s sending important emails or posting your first vacation selfie at 30,000+ feet, you’ll now be able to do so for free. Don’t get too excited though, as there are a couple of catches.
Let’s dig a little deeper.
The first catch is that the free Wi-Fi will be available only on American’s aircraft that are Viasat-enabled. Thankfully, this accounts for the majority of the airline’s short-haul, narrow-body fleet, so there’s a good chance you can browse the internet, check emails, stream videos, and text while on your next flight.
Secondly, it seems that there is likely to be a limit on how long the duration of the free Wi-Fi connection is. Free Wi-Fi passes typically last around 30-minutes to 1 hour, so it wouldn’t be surprising if this was the case.
You’ll also be required to watch a small video advertisement explaining American’s Wi-Fi before being able to connect for free.
If you’re a frequent American Airlines flyer and pay for monthly Wi-Fi access, then this is not likely something you’ll be excited about initially.
However, if American eventually makes free Wi-Fi for all a permanent feature, you’ll be able to cancel your subscription and save yourself up to $59.95 per month.
Bottom Line: Being connected while flying tens of thousands of feet above the earth is still a relatively new phenomenon. We put together this guide on how inflight Wi-Fi works, as well as the airlines that offer it and the price you can expect to pay.
If you’re not a frequent flyer and don’t have a subscription, American Airlines usually charges as little as just $10 per flight to be connected.
An interesting point to note is that JetBlue is the only U.S. airline that currently offers all passengers unlimited free Wi-Fi, even on transatlantic flights from the East Coast to London.
As a very close partner with JetBlue through the Northeast Alliance, it would make sense for American Airlines to mirror this offering in the same way that the 2 airlines recently increased their reciprocal elite benefits.
Whether you like to completely disconnect when flying or you’re glued to your phone or laptop 24/7, it’s nice to know that American Airlines will be offering free connectivity on the majority of its short-haul, domestic fleet.
Let’s hope that American Airlines is able to gather enough data from the temporary rollout that it comes to the conclusion to make free inflight Wi-Fi permanently free for all on all of its routes, whether domestic or international, short- or long-haul.
