American Airlines launched free in-flight Wi-Fi Tuesday, joining a growing industry trend that has carriers racing to offer travelers high-speed connections.
The airline said it would roll out the free Wi-Fi in phases across all of its narrowbodies and dual-class regional fleets, and expects the installation to be complete by early spring. American’s new Boeing 787-9 and 787-8 will also feature free Wi-Fi.
The Wi-Fi is free only for members of American’s loyalty program. AT&T is sponsoring the service and Viasat and Intelsat are providing the connectivity.
American was reportedly in talks with Amazon for Leo in-flight Wi-Fi, according to Bloomberg News. American did not confirm whether it was considering Amazon.
“American Airlines is committed to delivering an enhanced customer experience that meets the expectations of today’s travelers and to ensure as such, we are constantly in conversation with various companies and groups to discuss future opportunities,” American said in a statement to Skift.
Free Wi-Fi has become an increasingly popular option for airlines as the industry looks to cater to more premium and business travelers. JetBlue was the first U.S. carrier to offer free Wi-Fi in 2013 and is now the launch customer for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a competitor to Starlink. Former Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle told Skift in September that the ultra-low-cost carrier was also considering an in-flight Wi-Fi option.
United Airlines started offering free in-flight connectivity through Starlink in 2025. Delta Air Lines also has free Wi-Fi on most of its domestic and international flights.
American’s Premium Push
American has also made a host of changes to its customer experience to capitalize on the premium boom that has led its competitors — Delta and United — to report record profits. Some of the other changes include bringing back champagne to business class, partnering with Italian coffee company Lavazza, and expanding business class to more routes.
American was the first U.S. carrier to debut the Airbus A321XLR, an “extra-long-range” single-aisle jet that can travel transatlantic and transcontinental routes. The new aircraft features 20 new Flagship suites — American’s business class product.
During the 2025 Skift Aviation Forum, American chief customer officer Heather Garboden said premium demand has been the most resilient. She added that American aims to increase the number of premium seats by 30% by the end of the decade and 50% across long-haul flights.
“We’ll have more free satellite-based Wi-Fi on our aircraft than any other airline in the entire world,” she said. “So while I think premium demand is kind of the focus right now, I have no doubt that whether that changes over the next decade or so or it doesn’t, we also are focused on all customers, not necessarily just premium.”