With ever-advancing technologies, more and more airlines have announced that they will be introducing free WiFi for their customers in the next year or so, including, most recently, 
Air Canada
, which will introduce free internet for its loyalty program members starting in 2025.
WiFi for you, you, and you
In addition to Air Canada’s announcement on December 13, when the airline said that starting in May 2025, it would roll out a free WiFi
offer to Aeroplan
members starting with its short-haul fleet, several other airlines have promised customers the ability to surf the web free of charge in 2025.
For example, on September 26, Air France
said that it was revolutionizing its WiFi service, a move to continue its journey upmarket. From 2025, it will progressively roll out the service for Flying Blue customers. It is being enabled by Starlink’s connectivity solutions.
Airlines have also expanded their WiFi services in the United States. In September, 
United Airlines
, which currently offers free messaging and access to its website and app for all passengers, will enter the free WiFi space in 2025. Testing of the service will begin in early 2025, with the first passenger flights being deployed later during the year.
Photo: EQRoy | Shutterstock
airBaltic
should be another carrier that will link up with Starlink to offer free WiFi across its fleet. When the Latvian airline announced that it tested the company’s internet solution in March, it said that it had been working toward acquiring the supplemental type certificate (STC) approval, resulting in the installation of the first antennas on its Airbus A220-300
aircraft in late 2024.
In September, airBaltic provided an update on its progress to certify and begin equipping its fleet with Starlink antennas, saying that free in-flight internet was “coming soon.”
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Expanding connectivity
Those are just some of the airlines that have promised to introduce free WiFi sometime in 2025. Others, albeit sometimes on a limited scale, have already provided the service, such as Delta Air Lines’ connectivity solution.
On August 12, 
Delta Air Lines
announced that it would begin offering free WiFi on its long-haul fleet. While the service has been available on more than 700 aircraft flying domestic itineraries, the airline has announced free internet connectivity on its long-haul network.
Photo: Parkdolly | Shutterstock
However, the carrier emphasized that in order to ensure premium service, it was “rolling out fast, free Wi-Fi on Viasat-equipped widebody aircraft on a route-by-route basis.” Delta Air Line’s current WiFi map showed that apart from coverage across North America, customers can expect WiFi connectivity in Europe and Brazil, with no service when flying across the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii.
“Additional routes will be phased in as high-quality, reliable service becomes available. This strategy mirrors the approach taken with domestic installations in 2022.”
Qatar Airways
has also been slowly phasing in Starlink-offered internet services following its announcement that it would utilize the Musk-owned service in May. On December 12, the carrier began flying to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), with the first flight being operated by a Starlink-equipped Boeing 777-300ER
, registered as A7-BAF.
At the same time, the Qatari carrier celebrated the fact that instead of the 12 planned aircraft with WiFi connectivity, it now had 15, surpassing its roll-out target in 2024.
Photo: Hawaiian Airlines
Other airlines that recently began and have continued to implement fleet-wide free WiFi include but are not exclusive to Air New Zealand (first trials in 2024, domestic fleet-wide rollout in 2025), Hawaii Airlines, and WestJet (since December).
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Blue pioneers
According to 
Lufthansa
, it was the first airline to provide internet access on long-haul aircraft worldwide in 2003. However, the service did not last long, and in 2006, after Boeing had stopped supporting its ‘Connexion by Boeing’ satellites, the German carrier ended the program.
In December 2013, JetBlue
announced that it would launch its free WiFi solution, marketed as Fly-Fi. At the time, the airline’s statement read that it was the first service to bring real broadband internet in the sky at the same internet speeds its passengers had been used to while browsing the web at home.
Photo: JetBlue
In December 2023, JetBlue celebrated the tenth anniversary of Fly-Fi, reiterating that it was the first and only major US carrier to offer free WiFi on all flights. The company reflected that providing free, high-speed connectivity for aircraft flying in the air was a unique challenge in 2013.
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