American Airlines is keeping up inflight connectivity on-par with what other airlines are doing. Starting January 2026, AAdvantage members will have access to complimentary high-speed inflight Wi-Fi across more than 2 million flights per year. This will also make American the domestic airline with the most flights offering free Wi-Fi.

The new offering is sponsored by AT&T, and available exclusively to members of the the AAdvantage program.

American Airlines Wi-Fi Partnership with AT&T

Free Wi-Fi on 90% of the American Fleet

Unlike other airlines jumping on Starlink, American Airlines will provide complimentary Wi-Fi on aircraft equipped with Viasat and Intelsat satellite connectivity, which covers about 90% of the airline’s mainline fleet. The remaining 500+ regional aircraft are also expected to be upgraded by the end of 2025.

That means by early 2026, nearly every American Airlines flight will offer free inflight Wi-Fi to AAdvantage members.

To access free inflight Wi-Fi, passengers must be enrolled in the AAdvantage loyalty program.

Here’s how the major inflight Wi-Fi providers stack up in terms of coverage, speed, and technology:

Feature Viasat Intelsat Starlink
Type Geostationary (GEO) satellites Geostationary (GEO) + some LEO coverage Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites
Coverage Global (best over North America & Europe) Global (including oceans and remote areas) Expanding globally (strong in North America)
Download Speeds Up to 100 Mbps per aircraft Up to 70 Mbps per aircraft Up to 350 Mbps per aircraft
Latency ~600 ms ~500–700 ms ~30–50 ms
Streaming Capable Yes (Netflix, YouTube, etc.) Yes (varies by airline implementation) Yes (low-latency video & gaming supported)
Airlines Using It American, JetBlue, Delta, United American, Lufthansa, British Airways JSX, Hawaiian Airlines (2024), Qatar Airways

Note: American Airlines currently does not use Starlink, but it’s a growing player in the inflight connectivity space.

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