The most important cabin of a American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER jet.
Mary Altaffer | AP
American Airlines is planning to check complimentary inflight Wi-Fi starting next week as pressure mounts on carriers to supply the service freed from charge.
The tests shall be available on three flights: Between hub Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and Raleigh-Durham International Airport; Charlotte and Jacksonville International Airport in Florida; and between Miami International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
An increasing number of carriers have either launched or are preparing to supply free inflight Wi-Fi, making it harder for competitors to charge for connectivity. American’s prices vary and are among the U.S. industry’s highest, with flight passes often topping $20.
It was not immediately clear whether American will expand complimentary service to larger swaths of its network, and if that’s the case, when.
Delta Air Lines two years ago announced it will make Wi-Fi free for members of its SkyMiles loyalty program, following JetBlue Airways. United Airlines plans to supply complimentary Wi-Fi on board this 12 months using Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite Wi-Fi, a service Hawaiian Airlines, which was acquired by Alaska Airlines, also uses.
“Through this test, we’ll be assessing customer take rates for inflight Wi-Fi, evaluating our provider and aircraft capability, and – perhaps most significant – measuring the impact to customer satisfaction,” American’s chief customer officer, Heather Garboden, said in a staff memo Friday.
Along with facing more competition for a complimentary service, Fort Value, Texas-based American has been within the means of working to win back customers after a failed business travel sales strategy last 12 months.
“While relatively small in scope, that is already an enormous stride in our organization’s very critical work to provide our customers what we all know they need,” Garboden said.
