Airlines Dole Out Free Wi-Fi in Exchange For Your Loyalty

25.08.2023 - 13:12 / skift.com / Delta Air Lines

Airlines can’t avoid Wi-Fi anymore: Travelers expect it, and they’re basing their flight choices on its quality and price.

It’s been a long way to this point. Boeing saw little success with its Connexion by Boeing service, launched in April 2000 and shelved in 2006. Now, big-name carriers have a reasonably fast Wi-Fi offering, including: Delta and United in the U.S., Air France/KLM and Lufthansa in Europe and Emirates, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines in Asia. 

Early on, connectivity was lumpy and mostly unreliable whilst flying over water. However, with the emergence of behemoths such as those created by the acquisition of Inmarsat by Viasat, and the emergence of faster technology, such as the Ka-band, it has also become more steady, and the coverage area has increased. For instance, airlines that  sign up for Panasonic’s inflight offerings have global coverage now. 

The approach towards pricing for inflight Wi-Fi has changed as much as the speed. 

Over the initial years, airlines used advertising or sponsorship deals to make the Wi-Fi free, such as tying up with a content streaming service like Prime Video or Apple TV+. 

Another approach, which never became too popular, was selling data packages. The problem was customers could not predict how much data they would consume on a given flight. This pricing model still exists on many carriers but should be on its way out soon. JetBluebecame the first U.S. airline back in 2013 to offer free Wi-Fi to all passengers using its Fly-Fi offering. And this status quo did not change much for a long time until recently. 

More recent Wi-Fi access models offer services such as iMessage and WhatsApp for free but apply flat pricing for full connectivity. 

Buy for as low as $8-$10 for a single flight (Alaska Air, United and Southwest) or a subscription plan for the month, for instance, $50 on American Airlines for one device. 

International carriers such as Qatar Airways offer their Super Wi-Fi package for the flight duration for $8 when pre-purchased and $10 on board. Carriers such as T-Mobile are rolling up Wi-Fi on most American full-service carriers as a part of their postpaid plans.   

Free Wi-Fi, though, has been a gradual shift in the world of inflight internet as more stable connectivity solutions come online. And loyalty programmes have become the bridge between offering Wi-Fi and not charging for it. There are two primary ways this is structured, and the lookout depends on the airline. 

Some airlines are using the carrot of free Wi-Fi to enable more sign-ups to their loyalty programmes. Ultimately, once a passenger becomes a member of the loyalty programme, the airline can engage with them in some form of a future transaction again, such as another trip