If you just can’t live without being connected, most airlines now offer Wi-fi onboard for a fee. The fee at some airlines for service can be quite high though. We’ve seen charges for Wi-Fi on a flight as high as $25 recently.
Fortunately, the market for Wi-Fi on flights is changing. Some airlines are now beginning to offer free internet as part of their service offering. This is expected to become more common in 2025 as airlines begin to roll out upgraded Wi-Fi focused products.
Here are five airlines that operate in America that currently or will soon offer free Wi-Fi onboard as part of their product.
Hawaiian Airlines With Starlink
All passengers that book fares on Hawaiian’s Airbus fleet have access to free Wi-Fi. This Wi-Fi comes courtesy of Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Hawaiian became the first US airline to reach a deal with Starlink in 2022, and as of September 2024, the high-speed Wi-Fi has been successfully installed on all Airbus aircraft. Hawaiian also plans to install Starlink on its two Boeing 787-9 planes.
Though Hawaiian has merged with Alaska, Alaska still charges for its Wi-Fi courtesy of Wi-Fi Onboard as of this writing. Wi-Fi Onboard sells passes for one hour, a day, a month, or for an entire year.
JetBlue with ViaSat
While JetBlue currently doesn’t offer satellite Wi-Fi, the free offerings from the Boston-based airline are very robust, nonetheless. JetBlue was the first major airline to provide free Wi-Fi for customers in every class.
Viasat is the company that provides the Wi-Fi on JetBlue flights. While it’s not as capable as Starlink, passengers are still free to browse, text, and stream once connected.
JetBlue has also reached a deal with Peacock, allowing passengers to stream from a select catalog of movies and TV shows. TrueBlue members can receive 1,000 points when they sign up for a subscription. Mosaic members can also score a free annual Peacock subscription.
Delta Air Lines
There are currently two ways customers can get free Wi-Fi on a Delta flight. Firstly, long-haul international flights will have free Wi-Fi for all passengers. The companies that make this possible are Viasat and T-Mobile.
For domestic flights, Wi-Fi is only free for SkyMiles members. Fortunately, it’s free to sign up for SkyMiles to claim the free Wi-Fi offer. Upon becoming a SkyMiles member, you get free 24-hour access to Paramount Plus, which you can enjoy anywhere you’re streaming.
Without SkyMiles, it costs $10 to use Wi-Fi during a Delta flight.
International Carriers With Service To the US:
Air New Zealand
One of the first international airlines to reach a deal with Starlink is Air New Zealand. This airline flies to and from a handful of major US cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
One thing to be wary of is the use of video call apps. Currently, New Zealand has banned video calling on commercial planes due to the potential ‘interference with the aircraft’s systems’. While you can still browse the web and send texts, apps like FaceTime will be off limits.
China Eastern Airlines
Like Air New Zealand, China Eastern offers free Wi-Fi for American passengers on flights to and from select major cities such as San Francisco and Chicago. Also like Air New Zealand, there’s one key thing to watch out for.
Their free service comes with a weird catch though. The Wi-Fi has a limit of 100 passengers per flight. You won’t be able to connect if the capacity on the server is full.
The airline uses jets on international flights. China Eastern’s fleet includes the Airbus A350-900, Boeing 787-9, and Boeing 777-300ER.
