American Airlines is beginning a limited rollout of free WiFi on select flights. As flagged by JonNYC on X, American began ‘testing’ this new system on December 10. The airline had previously announced that it would offer free WiFi to all passengers who are members of its AAdvantage loyalty program, with a previously announced official rollout scheduled for January 2026.
The free WiFi, sponsored by AT&T, will be available on all aircraft that are equipped with Viasat or Intelsat high-speed connectivity. While these are the WiFi providers for a vast majority of American Airlines’ fleet, this program will be notably excluded from most of the carrier’s widebody airliners, which are equipped with Panasonic systems. The testing will only occur on a small portion of American’s flights.
Free Wi-Fi Coming Sooner To American Airlines
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American Airlines is now beginning a limited rollout of free WiFi on select flights as part of a testing phase. Passengers will not be notified of the availability of this amenity in advance. Instead, flight attendants will announce that the flight includes complimentary Wi-Fi onboard the aircraft during preflight announcements. The full rollout of complimentary WiFi is expected in January 2026.
American Airlines will offer complimentary WiFi to all AAdvantage members traveling on flights operated by planes equipped with Viasat or Intelsat systems. The carrier states that this accounts for roughly 90% of its fleet. In addition, American has been installing high-speed Wi-Fi on its fleet of over 500 American Eagle regional jets since 2023, which is slated to be completed shortly.
American Airlines is making major changes to its onboard experience to become more premium. It’s upgrading aircraft interiors and catering while introducing a new cabin design standard intended to appear more upscale. But WiFi, while not as flashy as new premium seats, is a crucial amenity that is expected by business travelers and wealthier customers. This new project will help improve American’s competitiveness against the competition.
More Details On American Airlines’ Wi-Fi
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American Airlines will offer complimentary WiFi on the vast majority of its fleet. However, most of its Boeing 787s and all of its Boeing 777s are equipped with Panasonic WiFi systems, which will not be included on this project. As such, this amenity will primarily be limited to short-haul flights. The notable exception is the new Boeing 787-9 ’78P’ subfleet, which features Viasat systems.
In the immediate future, the 78P aircraft will be the only widebodies that will offer complimentary WiFi. However, American Airlines has recently begun reconfiguring its Boeing 777-300ER fleet with new cabins, and part of this retrofit will include installing Viasat Wi-Fi. All 20 777-300ERs will be retrofitted, and American has also confirmed a similar project for the 47-strong 777-200ER fleet. While the availability will be limited on long-haul flights at first, it will eventually become widespread.
Aircraft
Wi-Fi System
Boeing 777
(777-200ER, 777-300ER)
Panasonic
(Future Viasat)
Boeing 787
(787-8, 787-9)
Panasonic
Boeing 787-9
(78P)
Viasat
American Airlines was proactive in installing fast WiFi systems on its aircraft, but its competitors have caught up. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines also have comparable high-speed systems, and perhaps more importantly, are more consistent in their pricing. American Airlines’ pricing for WiFi is highly variable and can be more than double what competitors charge in some cases.
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Onboard Connectivity When Flying With The Competition
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JetBlue was once notable for being the only US airline to offer free WiFi for all passengers, but in 2023, Delta Air Lines installed Viasat systems on most of its aircraft and began offering complimentary WiFi to all Delta SkyMiles members. While this was limited to Airbus A320 family aircraft and Boeing 737s, it has since been rolled out to its Airbus A220, Airbus A330, Airbus A350, Boeing 717, and Boeing 767 fleets, as well as with its Delta Connection regional jets.
United Airlines offers complimentary inflight messaging on all flights and has also started installing Starlink Wi-Fi on its fleet, which will be free for all MileagePlus members. The focus has been on retrofitting United Express’s regional jet fleet due to the impending expiration of United’s contract with its current provider. Eventually, United expects to install Starlink on more than 1,000 aircraft in the coming years.
