Summary

• Some airlines offer fast, free WiFi on all flights.
• Business class and loyalty members often get free inflight WiFi.
• Several carriers provide limited free WiFi options for economy passengers.

With the rapid rise of remote work, WiFi has become non-negotiable for many travelers, leading more and more airlines to offer the service. Carriers that fail to provide passengers with free WiFi are increasingly becoming less appealing in the eyes of most travelers.

Nonetheless, only a handful of airlines provide fully free WiFi to passengers on all flights, and many others still have heavy limitations on their services. In this article, we will examine which carriers offer the best free WiFi in economy and business class cabins.

US carrier offerings

JetBlue is a great place to start. The ultra-low-cost airline headquartered in Long Island offers free, high-speed WiFi for every passenger using ViaSat, becoming the first major US airline to make this move over ten years ago. Since 2017, the airline has made its Fly-Fi free for all customers on its fleet of Airbus A320s, A321s, and Embraer 190s. However, there are some limitations on the service, and it can be unreliable on many over-water routes.

The offer is in partnership with Amazon Prime. It allows users to stream videos and use multiple devices simultaneously, unlike competitors that only allow one screen at a time. JetBlue also pledges its download speeds up to 20Mbps, higher than any competitor.

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United Airlines has long offered passengers free access to messaging services like iMessage and WhatsApp but recently moved towards providing free WiFi. Now, T-Mobile customers have free internet access on mobile devices.

Delta Air Lines, which previously maintained a similar policy with T-Mobile, has since elevated its offerings. According to the carrier, fast, free WiFi has been rolled out to all of its domestic mainline fleet as of February 2024, with ambitions to roll the service out to the entire fleet by the end of the year.

Overseas offerings

Australia's flag carrier Qantas also offers similar free WiFi to its customers, but only for domestic flights. Also, in partnership with ViaSat, since 2019, the airline has provided free internet for selected flights operated by its Boeing 737-800 jets and Airbus A330-200s. According to the carrier - while far lower than JetBlue - Qantas' system is capable of up to 12Mbps per device, which the company says is "ten times faster" than conventional inflight systems.

Air New Zealand is yet another airline that offers free WiFi with few limitations. According to the company, its Airbus A320neo aircraft that fly to Australia, the Pacific Islands, and some domestic New Zealand routes offer free WiFi to all passengers.

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The majority of the carrier's 787 fleet has since been equipped with the service as well, although the airline's 777s do not offer free WiFi. The connectivity comes from a partnership with Inmarsat and Panasonic Avionics. In 2019, Executive Traveller tested the airline's download speeds on an A320neo and found a maximum of 4.7Mbps.

Recently, Malaysia Airlines also made waves by expanding its WiFi offerings. In November 2023, the airline expanded its free WiFi service to include passengers in all classes, with the service first being introduced to the airline's widebody fleet. In the coming months, the Malaysian flag carrier aims to expand connectivity to include its narrowbody jets.

Lastly, low-cost Thai carrier Nok Air provides free WiFi on all its Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline began its service in 2014 and was the first to make the move in Asia, powered by Thaicom. Many other carriers offer free WiFi in some form, and, fortunately, the list continues to grow with each year that passes.

Free economy WiFi with a catch

China Eastern Airlines has free WiFi but with a catch. While dubbed a 'test,' their WiFi option has been available for years. When passengers have booked with China Eastern, they can apply for a free trial of the company's internet access. However, only the first 100 customers will get it. The carrier said it's "first come, first served."

While the service is available for mobile phones, laptops, and other devices with pre-boarding registration, China Eastern has blocked many popular sites, making the free WiFi less appealing. As always, with connectivity in China, it almost always comes with a catch.

Philippine Airlines is another carrier that provides free WiFi for all passengers but is limited. All customers can access the company's myPAL hotspot with a complimentary chat plan of 10MB.

The plan does not support videos and photos. However, business class passengers can get an extra 100MB. According to Airways WiFi, myPAL is available on Philippines Airlines' Boeing 777 aircraft, exclusively on London to Manila and Manila to London routes, and its Airbus jets. Several other carriers provide similarly non-unlimited free WiFi.

Premium passengers and loyalty members

While business fares and loyalty clubs can often be pricey, they usually provide the benefit of free inflight WiFi. This is unsurprising, as corporate travelers are the most likely to do work that requires high-speed WiFi while on a flight.

UAE's flag carrier, Emirates, offers free chatting on WhatsApp, messenger, and other services for Emirates Skywards blue, silver, or gold members traveling in business class. Platinum Skywards members will have unlimited WiFi access regardless of what class they travel in.

That said, free WiFi for the whole flight is exclusive to Skywards members traveling in first class or Platinum members in business class. The entire Emirates fleet is embedded with internet access. The airline used to offer free 20MB to all passengers and unlimited texting to use within two hours, but this service has been replaced with all Skywards members receiving some form of free access, according to the airline.

Singapore Airlines is among the most recent carriers to introduce unlimited free WiFi to loyalty members. According to One Mile At A Time, the airline has recently rolled out free WiFi to KrisFlyer members seating in all cabins for the entire duration of the flight.

Qatar Airways offers free WiFi to economy customers, but the option is much more limited. In 2018, Qatar introduced its Super WiFi through Inmarsat's GX Aviation technology, which gives travelers one hour of free internet access. However, according to Qatar's webpage, you must be a Privilege Club Member to access the complimentary hour. In previous years, all passengers gained access to one hour of free WiFi, but Qatar's website now says it is exclusive to their loyalty members.

Scandinavian Airlines offers free high-speed WiFi to travelers in SAS Business, SAS Plus, EuroBonus Diamond, and Gold Members for selected domestic and European flights. The company said flights to Asia, Canada, and the US have a lower speed and will allow for basic internet use but not streaming. Scandinavian Airlines' WiFi is powered by ViaSat and claims passengers can get speeds of up to 12Mpbs during most of the flight.

Ireland's Aer Lingus offers complimentary WiFi for its business class and AerClub Concierge customers. On its Airbus A330 aircraft, customers can use the WiFi, their data, and text, but on its A321LRs, only WiFi is available. Aer Lingus offers a 5Mbps upload capacity.