American Airlines to trial free Wi-Fi on 3 routes in bid to stay competitive with rivals

Wi-Fi for $35 on a cross-country flight? That's currently the going rate on American Airlines.

However, changes might be on the way. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline is officially trialing free Wi-Fi beginning next week, the airline announced internally on Friday and also confirmed with TPG.

The test will cover just three routes (in both directions): Charlotte to Raleigh, North Carolina; Miami to Chicago; and Charlotte to Jacksonville, Florida.

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It wasn't immediately clear why these routes were chosen, and American also didn't say how long the test would last. The internal memo says that "through this test, we'll be assessing customer take rates for inflight Wi-Fi, evaluating our provider and aircraft capacity, and – perhaps most important – measuring the impact to customer satisfaction via NPS scores."

American says that this test will be used to determine how much bandwidth is consumed and whether it has the technical capability to roll out free Wi-Fi more broadly. It also says that it is responding to competitor pressure with this move.

"With the creation of our new Customer Experience organization led by Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden, American Airlines is more committed than ever to enhancing every aspect of our customers' travel journey," a statement from American shared with TPG reads. "Staying connected in the skies is critical to today's passengers and through this limited-time complimentary Wi-Fi test, we are exploring opportunities to build upon our high-speed Wi-Fi offerings to stay competitive in the industry and give our customers what we know they want."

American has long been a major holdout on the free (or discounted) Wi-Fi bandwagon. Despite having most of its fleet outfitted with streaming-capable Wi-Fi, the carrier has been the stingiest when it comes to connectivity.

Flight passes routinely go for upward of $20, and the airline's new pricing scheme that allows you to redeem miles for a pass is rarely a good deal. (As always, you'll want to compare the redemption rate against TPG's valuation of 1.65 cents per AAdvantage mile.)

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In fairness, American has trialed and then introduced time-limited, ad-sponsored Wi-Fi passes, though that connectivity is usually limited to 15 or 20 minutes of browsing.

In fact, back in 2017, American promised free messaging would be coming "soon" — but that day has yet to materialize.

Inflight surfing: American debuts new Wi-Fi redemptions but stops short of making it free

At the time, Delta Air Lines became the first of the "Big Three" U.S. airlines — American, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines — to offer free messaging to all travelers. This allowed flyers to connect to the internet to use apps such as iMessage and WhatsApp without paying for a full Wi-Fi pass.

American announced the next day that it would match Delta's move "soon" without providing a concrete timeline.

Even Southwest Airlines and United, which have much of their fleets outfitted with slower and less reliable Wi-Fi than American's fleet, now offer free messaging.

While American may finally be gearing up to make Wi-Fi free, it's playing a game of catch-up. JetBlue has long offered free internet access on board, and Delta is now doing it, too.

Alaska Airlines, Southwest and United all currently offer $8 Wi-Fi passes on many flights, and United will soon even make its connectivity free once it rolls out Starlink Wi-Fi.

American's Wi-Fi infrastructure could theoretically support free Wi-Fi. Most of the airline's mainline jets are connected to Viasat satellites, the same provider that Delta uses to enable free Wi-Fi.

Of course, Viasat will need to have enough bandwidth to support many more users, but the provider's third-generation satellite constellation should be able to do it.

Even if American decides to flip the switch on free Wi-Fi, it still won't offer seatback screens across its domestic fleet for using it. So, no matter what happens, make sure to bring your own entertainment device when flying with American.

Related reading:

• Your ultimate guide to American Airlines AAdvantage
• Best credit cards for American Airlines flyers
• American Airlines elite status: What it is and how to earn it
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• American Airlines basic economy: What you need to know about bags, seats, boarding and more