The availability of in-air Wi-Fi depends on the airline passengers are going with. Airlines for example Spirit charge a little fee for Wi-Fi, while only JetBlue, provides free Wi-Fi to any or all passengers.
However, an increasing number of airlines, including United, Alaska Airlines, and Delta, have announced price cuts for his or her in-flight Wi-Fi services.
Others, including Hawaiian Airlines, would be the first major airline to supply Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service to customers aboard their flights starting the coming year. Meanwhile, Delta is conducting Starlink tests to follow along with suit.
While all this is going on, Southwest has opted to provide free internet to passengers aboard 40 of its Boeing 737s within the next six weeks.
The airline says this really is a part of an evaluation to provide faster internet to more travelers.
According to a statement delivered to staff last week, the airline has equipped 40 of its planes with new technology for this free Wi-Fi trial.
Southwest’s free Wi-Fi will be offered by May 4 through June 10, said Tony Roach, vice president of customer experience and customer relations.
On normal days, the carrier charges $8 each day for Wi-Fi but restricts access to several high-bandwidth sites such as Netflix, HBO Max, Microsoft Teams and Zoom, although not with the trial.
“This trial will allow People to stream, browse, and engage on the web at no cost just like other complimentary services,” Roach wrote.
“Our goal is to evaluate the way the new hardware improves performance while delivering a reliable internet experience utilized by a sizable volume of customers,” he added.
Unfortunately, Southwest will not provide more information.
The one which has actually been announcing with great enthusiasm its new alliance with Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starlink to supply free Wi-Fi to passengers on long-haul flights by the coming year is Hawaiian Airlines.
“Historically, we've checked out our market and never seen great options over the Pacific. We haven't any connectivity on our fleet today,” Avi Mannis, Hawaiian's chief marketing and communications officer, told CNBC. “The options happen to be improving with time, but we have waited until there is an item offering… that we thought would live up to the expectations of our guests.”
