Southwest Airlines on Thursday became the latest U.S. carrier to announce that it will bring free, high-speed Wi-Fi to the skies starting October 24. Southwest had been the last holdout among the major U.S. airlines on the complimentary connectivity front.
The airline has partnered with network provider T-Mobile to offer in-flight Wi-Fi to all Southwest Rapid Rewards members for no added charge.
The news follows a similar announcement from American Airlines, which in April revealed that it would begin offering complimentary Wi-Fi starting in 2026. American has partnered with AT&T and will be making the service available on planes equipped with high-speed satellite connectivity, which constitutes about 90 percent of the carrier’s fleet. (Some of American’s older wide-body planes aren’t suited to the new tech.)
Similar to Southwest, passengers must sign up for American’s AAdvantage loyalty program to access the Wi-Fi for free.
A Wi-Fi revolution in the sky
Over the past few years, a large-scale free Wi-Fi offering has become table stakes in the airline industry with passengers valuing staying connected more than ever.
Of the “big three” U.S. airlines—American, Delta, and United—Delta moved first, when it announced free Wi-Fi for its mainline domestic fleet starting in February 2023. By the end of 2024, the airline reported that more than 700 of its planes had been equipped to provide free internet access, and it expanded the service to long-haul transatlantic international routes and to flights to South America this past spring. Like American and Southwest, Delta’s Wi-Fi is free only for members of the airline’s SkyMiles loyalty program.
In September 2024, United announced its intention to install free high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi across its fleet. It plans to install the service on its regional planes by the end of the year, and on its mainline fleet after that. Eventually, United plans to outfit its entire fleet with Starlink. United, too, is making the free Wi-Fi available only for its MileagePlus members.
Hawaiian Airlines also has a free Wi-Fi program in collaboration with Starlink on its Airbus A330 and A321neo planes, and last month Alaska Airlines (which recently merged with Hawaiian) revealed that starting in 2026, the Starlink partnership will expand to Alaska and that members of the airlines’ newly combined rewards program, Atmos, will have access to free high-speed Wi-Fi, too.
The very first airline to offer fast, free Wi-Fi was JetBlue, starting in 2013, and that airline currently offers the service on every single aircraft in its fleet.
American’s recent offer of free high-speed Wi-Fi is extra sweet because the airline has been charging the most to stay connected—and the reliability of its connectivity has been inconsistent at best.
Southwest aircraft do not have seatback screens, and American, too, does not have plans to outfit the seats on the majority of its planes with seatback screens for entertainment, which means the two airlines are betting that fliers’ phones, tablets, or laptops will be all the entertainment they will need for most flights, once access to free and fast internet connectivity is available.
Now, the race is on to see which major airline will offer the best and fastest connection in the air, which is great news for passengers who like to—or need to—stay connected while flying (and maybe bittersweet news for those who appreciate the opportunity to disconnect during flights or prefer a seatback screen loaded with entertainment options).
This story originally appeared in April 2025 and was updated on September 5, 2025, to include current information.
