American Airlines isn’t ready to commit to free WiFi yet. But an announcement is in the offing, hints Kim Cisek, American’s vice president of customer experience and product management.
“Ultimately, we want to ensure that as we’re building out the foundation, we make sure we build this right,” Cisek said during an interview at American’s corporate headquarters in Dallas. “At the end of the day, we will continue down this path, and I’ll have more to share with you soon as we look to innovate in this space.”
Currently, American flyers on mainline aircraft can receive 20 minutes of free ad-sponsored WiFi per flight. The airline also provides free WiFi to T-Mobile customers with eligible plans.
But in terms of free service, American has fallen behind Delta, which offers free WiFi to all SkyMiles members across the vast majority of its domestic fleet and has begun the rollout on international routes.
Hawaiian Airlines offers free transoceanic WiFi on its fleet of 24 Airbus A330 aircraft. JetBlue has long offered free WiFi.
Last month, United became the latest U.S. carrier to announce plans for free WiFi, with the first rollout happening next year and deployment continuing for several years. United ultimately aims to retrofit more than 1,000 aircraft with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service.
Cisek noted that American has installed high-speed satellite WiFi on the bulk of its narrowbody mainline fleet, providing service from gate-to-gate. Gate-to-gate installations on the carrier’s regional fleet are underway and are expected to be completed by the end of next year. American is bringing gate-to-gate WiFi capabilities to its widebody aircraft with new deliveries and as it retrofits widebody interiors.
Cisek said that making sure American has reliable, high-speed WiFi across is fleet is a priority.
“We’re taking a phased approach to this,” she said.