Something to look forward to: American Airlines is teaming up with the nation's second-largest wireless provider, AT&T, to bring high-speed, satellite-based Wi-Fi to its entire fleet of passenger jets. The rollout is set to begin this month starting with dual-class and narrow body regional planes and barring any unforeseen hiccups, should be completed by early spring.
The in-flight perk requires membership in American's loyalty program, AAdvantage, which is free to join. Passengers can sign up ahead of time at AA's website or right from their seat during flight. Connectivity will be powered by Viasat and Intelsat, two of the world's leading satellite communications providers.
American's rollout is less about leading the pack and more about keeping up with the Joneses. In 2024, United Airlines partnered with SpaceX to bring Starlink Internet to its flights. The rollout got under way in mid-2025, and initial tests were promising. Demonstrations saw average download speeds of 128 Mbps with peaks north of 230 Mbps during taxiing and takeoff, putting it in the same category as some at-home broadband offerings. Like American, customers have to be part of United's loyalty program to access the free perk.
Heather Garboden, American's chief customer officer, agrees, noting that free high-speed Wi-Fi isn't just a perk but rather, essential for today's travelers.
Airlines are also playing a role in what customers access while in the air. Last year, United reached an agreement with streaming leader Spotify to bring free audiobooks and video podcasts to passengers. The initial rollout included more than 450 hours of curated playlists that can be accessed via seatback screens.
Once American's rollout is complete, the company will have free Wi-Fi on more flights than any other airline in the world, we are told.
If doom scrolling social media at 35,000 doesn't sound like much fun, you can always opt for Airplane Mode – the real-time game where you play as a window seat passenger on a long-haul commercial flight over the Atlantic. The game features stereotypical "bad" experiences you might encounter on a real flight including delays, turbulence, crying babies, and even bad Wi-Fi.