How to Get Free In-Flight Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi in the sky used to be a luxury. Now travelers are so used to being connected with friends, family and social media that the idea of being offline for hours may be frightening.

Airlines have responded by making investments to add high-speed, satellite-based Wi-Fi to planes. While most airlines still charge passengers to connect, there are many ways to get free in-flight Wi-Fi. Some airlines provide free Wi-Fi to all customers. Others offer it at least to passengers with elite status.

And even some cell phone plans offer free in-flight Wi-Fi to customers.

Here’s a look at which airlines have free Wi-Fi and all of the ways you can stay connected.

» Learn more: Which airline credit card is best for international award travel?

Delta

Delta ranks No. 1 on NerdWallet's annual rankings of airlines by best in-flight experience. Their high scores are helped by the fact that — back in Feb. 1, 2023 — Delta rolled out free Wi-Fi to most of its domestic mainline aircraft.

By the end of 2024, free Wi-Fi should be available on all aircraft, including regional and international jets. In the meantime, all Delta passengers get free mobile messaging through iMessage, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

JetBlue

JetBlue provides free Wi-Fi for all passengers through JetBlue’s Fly-Fi product. Customers also get free in-flight messaging. JetBlue has long been a leader in its in-flight entertainment offerings, including being one of the first to offer free movies to all travelers.

Perhaps it's unsurprising why JetBlue ranks high among all U.S. airlines in terms of having the best inflight entertainment.

Though while all JetBlue passengers can get free, unlimited Wi-Fi on flights and bypass paywalls, note that some flights traveling outside of the continental United States (with the exception of Europe and the UK) may have unavailable service. For example, on ViaSat-2 equipped aircraft, Fly- Fi may not be available on portions of routes to/from Alaska, Ecuador and Peru. You might also experience connection issues due to weather and other variables.

Other domestic airlines with at least free messaging

Alaska Airlines offers free texting through iMessage, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp on all internet-connected flights.

Southwest Airlines also allows free text messaging through iMessage and WhatsApp. Southwest also creates opportunities for loyal passengers or high-paying passengers to get free Wi-Fi (such as through holding A-List Preferred elite status, by purchasing Business Select airfare or by holding the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card.

International airlines with free Wi-Fi

Several international airlines also offer free Wi-Fi to passengers:

• Air New Zealand offers free Wi-Fi on domestic flights within New Zealand.

• China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines offer free Wi-Fi on a “first come, first served” basis to the first 100 passengers who apply for it ahead of the flight.

• Japan Airlines passengers get free Wi-Fi on domestic flights.

• Nok Air provides free internet on all flights operated using a Boeing 737.

• Norwegian Airlines passengers can browse the web and send and receive emails and text-based messaging on flights within Europe. But you’ll need to pay to access social media or stream videos.

• Philippine Airlines passengers can access a complimentary 3 megabyte chat plan. Get up to 100MB more data for $10.

• Qantas passengers can access free high-speed Wi-Fi on most domestic flights on Boeing 737 and Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

• Qatar Airways offers all passengers 15 minutes or 10MB of free Wi-Fi thanks to a sponsor. And Qatar Student Club members can get free Wi-Fi for the entire flight if they book through Qatar’s website.

If you’re an elite member of one of these frequent flyer programs, you might be able to surf the internet free on your next flight.

Domestic

Southwest offers A-List Preferred elite members free Wi-Fi each time you fly, without having to pay the $8 fee. Just connect to the Wi-Fi service, click the “Connect for free” button and log in to your Rapid Rewards account to score the free connection.

International

International airlines that provide internet access to elite members include:

• Emirates Skywards Gold elite members get free access to chat through WhatsApp, Messenger and other text services. Platinum members get free, unlimited Wi-Fi on flights.

• Finnair Plus Gold members get complimentary internet access for one hour on intercontinental flights. Platinum members get complimentary access the entire flight. On flights within Europe and the Middle East, both Gold and Platinum members get just 30 minutes of free access.

• Icelandair Saga Gold members get complimentary Wi-Fi access for two devices.

• SAS EuroBonus Diamond or Gold members get free Wi-Fi on the plane.

• Singapore Airlines PPS Club members get 100MB of data. General KrisFlyer members can connect to text messaging services for up to two hours (capped at 30MB).

• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Elite and Elite Plus members receive 400MB of free internet access. Meanwhile, Miles&Smiles Classic and Classic Plus members get 10MB of free access.

Another way of getting free Wi-Fi while flying is by booking business or first class tickets on certain airlines (primarily international, as things currently stand).

A handful of airlines allocate premium cabin passengers at least 100MB of free in-flight Wi-Fi. Those include:

• Aer Lingus offers business class passengers free internet connectivity.

• Emirates Skywards members can access in-flight Wi-Fi for free throughout the flight when flying in first class. Business class passengers can get free unlimited chat through WhatsApp, Messenger and other text services.

• Icelandair Saga Premium, Saga Premium Flex and Economy Flex passengers get complimentary Wi-Fi for two devices.

• Philippine Airlines business class passengers get 100MB of free in-flight Wi-Fi.

• SAS Plus and Business class passengers get free Wi-Fi.

• Singapore Airlines Suites and First Class passengers get unlimited in-flight Wi-Fi. Business class passengers are allocated 100MB.

• Southwest: Passengers flying in Business Select — Southwest's "first class" cabin — get full Wi-Fi access on enabled planes.

• Turkish business class passengers get 1 gigabyte of free Wi-Fi.

Other airlines aren’t as generous with premium cabin passengers:

• Alitalia “Magnifica” business class passengers used to get a voucher for 50MB of data. Premium Economy passengers got 10MB of data. In early 2021, the airline suspended the vouchers without indicating when or whether they would return.

• Finnair business class and Economy Comfort passengers get one hour of free internet access on intercontinental flights. On shorter flights, business class passengers get 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi.

• Swiss Air Lines first-class passengers get a voucher for 50MB of Wi-Fi on the house.

You don't need elite status or a fancy seat to get free Wi-Fi. Here are some other pro-tips for connecting for free:

Hold the right phone plan

T-Mobile offers NerdWallet's top international phone plans — but you can remain connected (for free) as a T-Mobile customer, even before you touch down.

T-Mobile customers on Go5G Next and Go5G Plus Plans get unlimited full-flight Wi-Fi, texting and streaming. Meanwhile, with a T-Mobile Go5G Plan, customers get unlimited texting. From there, they can choose four full flights a year with Wi-Fi & streaming, and then one hour in-flight Wi-Fi & streaming on additional flights.

Credit cards

Several credit cards offer free Wi-Fi as a benefit of being a cardholder. Some cards offer Wi-Fi only on specific airlines, while others offer Wi-Fi passes that can be used on multiple airlines.

Credit cards with free in-flight Wi-Fi (or statement credits)

Southwest flyers will want to opt for the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card. Cardholders can get up to 365 statement credits per year for $8 Southwest Wi-Fi purchases, which doesn't go as far as you might think now that Southwest charges per device, per flight rather than per device, per day.

American Airlines flyers can choose between two cards that offer free Wi-Fi. The AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® offers up to $25 in statement credits per cardholder anniversary year for Wi-Fi purchases on American Airlines. Meanwhile, the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Silver Mastercard® offers up to $50 in statement credits each cardholder year for American Airlines Wi-Fi purchases.

Other cards offer passes that can be used on any airline that utilizes Gogo Wi-Fi. There are currently three cards that offer 12 complimentary Gogo Wi-Fi passes each year:

• U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card. (No longer accepting new applications.)

• UBS Visa Infinite Credit Card.

• City National Crystal® Visa Infinite® Credit Card.

If none of those cards works for you, several credit cards offer a general travel credit that could be used for Wi-Fi. Check the terms to make sure your in-flight Wi-Fi purchase will qualify.