American Airlines is making good on its commitment to launch free Wi-Fi for loyalty members, with a phased rollout now in motion in partnership with AT&T. Notably, the US major intends to bring the complimentary service to its new Boeing 787-9 and 787-8 twinjets.
“We launched our free Wi-Fi, sponsored by AT&T, today,” an American spokesperson confirms. Free high-speed Wi-Fi will roll out across “100% of our narrowbody and dual-class regional fleets, and by early spring, it will be available on nearly every American Airlines flight.”
American trialed the service on select flights in advance of the debut. Passengers simply log into American’s upgraded inflight portal using their AAdvantage number and password, then select “Free Wi-Fi” to start browsing, or they can join the loyalty program on the fly to unlock access.
Viasat and Intelsat-now-SES’s geostationary (GEO) satellite-based inflight connectivity systems are installed across American’s mainline narrowbody fleet. And SES’s multi-orbit IFC solution, which uses both Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite service from Eutelsat OneWeb and SES GEO service, is being installed on the carrier’s two-cabin regional jets. All of these aircraft will offer free Wi-Fi.
“There has been a tremendous amount of work happening over the last year to ensure American’s customers will be thrilled with their experience. Hundreds of planes have been upgraded to SES’s latest generation multi-orbit solution, which ensures an at-home experience, no matter where customers are flying,” says SES vice president, channel partnerships Robert Knapel in a statement on LinkedIn.
He notes that SES “will be enabling this service for American on more than 600 aircraft, making it our largest deployment of free Wi-Fi to date.” More than 375 regional jets at American have already been fitted with SES’s multi-orbit, ESA-based IFC system.
American’s Boeing 777s are equipped with Panasonic Avionics’ Ku-band satcom solution. These tails are not presently included in American’s free Wi-Fi scheme. Instead, the Panasonic-equipped aircraft will continue to offer paid Wi-Fi options via a flight pass or customers with a subscription can use it on valid routes.
The carrier is, however, flying new 787s with Viasat’s Ka-band IFC system, and says today: “American’s new Boeing 787-9 and 787-8 aircraft will also feature free Wi-Fi.”
It remains to be seen if a retrofit plan is in the offing for unfitted birds. But American’s spokesperson notes: “We are actively working to offer free Wi-Fi across 100% of our fleet and continue our commitment to offering an enhanced customer experience.”
While the oneworld alliance member has joined the free Wi-Fi party later than its peers — JetBlue got the ball rolling many years ago, and Delta, United and Southwest have since adopted the model — American notes that it will be flying “more aircraft than any other carrier in the world” with free Wi-Fi when its phased rollout is complete as some 900 jets in its fleet are fitted with either SES or Viasat satcom.
Interestingly, AT&T once had designs on serving airline passengers directly with its own IFC solution. Though it abandoned that plan, the telco makes a natural inflight partner to American as it has long worked with the carrier on the ground.
“We’re proud to support this experience for AAdvantage members, helping redefine what it means to travel connected, all courtesy of America’s best, fastest and most reliable network,” says Jenifer Robertson, AT&T EVP and GM for Mass Markets.
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Featured image credited to Chris Sloan
