If you’re hoping American Airlines can follow its competitors in offering free — or at least cheaper — Wi-Fi service on board, you might not want to hold your breath.
During the press conference held on Tuesday at Aircraft Interior Exhibition 2024 in Hamburg, Germany, a top customer experience official for the Fort Worth-based service provider seems to think that Americans are unlikely to reduce Wi-Fi prices – at least in the near future.
Considering that rival Delta Air Lines made headlines last year when it started rolling out free Wi-Fi to the majority of its fleet, just one SkyMiles If you sign up for a loyalty program, questions around airline Wi-Fi prices are all the more valuable.
JetBlue has also offered free Wi-Fi for many years. In recent years, United Airlines simplify its Wi-Fi pricing. On short-haul domestic and international flights, the airline offers in-flight service at a flat rate of $8 per flight for MileagePlus members. Southwest Airlines also charges $8 per device.
But American’s price is still much higher. Prices fluctuate from one flight to the next; in 2024, I paid anywhere from $12 for a short East Coast flight to $19 to $25 for other domestic flights… and $35 for a transatlantic flight.
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When asked this week if carriers could discount Wi-Fi — or offer it for free, like Delta and JetBlue — here’s what Kimberly Cisek, vice president of customer experience for American Airlines, said. , said: “American Airlines offers and operates the most high-speed Wi-Fi aircraft in the world. And so, as we continue to invest in this space for our customers , we’re offering our customers not just Wi-Fi… but also free entertainment options from podcasts to videos, to movies — there are more than 1,500 options for our customers to choose from. “
Cisek also took note of the Americans recent changes to it Program advantageswhich includes allowing customers the option to pay for in-flight Internet purchases using miles on certain aircraft—but before you agree to that option, be sure to check out Consult TPG. Prizes vs. Cash Calculator to ensure you don’t waste your hard-earned miles.
However, when pressed for an answer on whether free Wi-Fi is coming, Cisek said: “There will be more. Right now, we’ve just rolled out our miles as a payments.”
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It’s worth noting (and in Cisek’s opinion) that US Wi-Fi service has certainly become more reliable in recent years. I’ve had solid service on the majority of the 32 flights I’ve taken with the airline so far in 2024.
That’s largely thanks to the investments in technology upgrades the carrier has made – and those investments are expensive, to be sure.
However, with Wi-Fi discounts being a clear trend in the US airline industry today, it’s worth seeing how American handles the issue going forward. However, what now? Stay tuned, it seems.
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