Air Canada will make inflight Wi-Fi free starting in May

Air Canada is about to become the latest airline to make it easier to stay connected.

The Canadian carrier said Thursday that it will make gate-to-gate Wi-Fi available for free across its fleet in a phased introduction, with the first stage beginning this coming spring. The amenity will eventually be available on all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights, along with most flights operated by Air Canada Express aircraft.

Flights within North America and the Caribbean will get the complimentary connectivity first, with rollout expected to begin in May 2025, the airline said. Air Canada plans to introduce the free Wi-Fi on long-haul international flights sometime in 2026.

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Notably, the fleet of De Havilland Canada Q400, or "Dash 8," turboprop aircraft that fly across the Air Canada Express regional network will also be retrofitted with free-to-use Wi-Fi. Air Canada said that it will be the first time that an airline will install in-flight Wi-Fi on a Q400 — "including those that fly from Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport," the carrier said in a statement.

The statement is likely a reference to Air Canada's competition with boutique carrier Porter Airlines at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), where both airlines use only Q400 turboprops at the close-to-downtown airfield. Porter offers Wi-Fi on its Embraer aircraft that fly from other airports, but not on its Q400s that fly from YTZ.

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As for Air Canada's Wi-Fi, there's one catch, albeit an easy one to work with: To connect to the Wi-Fi without having to pay, passengers must be members of the airline's Aeroplan frequent flyer program, and log into their accounts. Fortunately, anyone can join Aeroplan for free ahead of their flight. If for some reason a passenger does not want to sign up for the program, they'll be able to pay a fee to get online, the airline said. Air Canada already offers free texting on some flights, which similarly requires an Aeroplan account.

The connectivity will be sponsored by telecommunications service provider Bell, according to Air Canada.

An increasing number of airlines have begun to offer free Wi-Fi in recent years, although most still charge fees to connect during flight.

In early 2023, Delta Air Lines began offering free Wi-Fi to all SkyMiles members on most of its domestic mainline fleet, although some older aircraft types were not included initially. The airline began rolling out free connectivity on long-haul flights earlier this summer, with the full rollout scheduled in stages through late-2025.

Air Canada's Star Alliance partner United Airlines said in September that it also plans to offer free Wi-Fi aboard flights starting later in 2025 when it begins installing Starlink service across its fleet.

JetBlue, meanwhile, became the first U.S. airline to offer free Wi-Fi all the way back in 2017, and still continues to today.

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