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American Airlines has finally decided to do something about the fact that its fleet has three different Wi-Fi suppliers, but there has never been a single plan to cover access to all three networks. As of yesterday, the airline is now offering a choice of two monthly plans that give users access to Wi-Fi on all American Airlines aircraft regardless of who the Wi-Fi supplier is.
The monthly American Airline wi-fi plans
American Airlines has introduced two monthly plans that cover Wi-Fi on all of its aircraft. The first plan offers Wi-Fi for a single device while, for a $10 premium, the second plan offers wi-fi for up to two devices at the same time.
The key thing to know here is that while both of these plans will cover a user’s wi-fi needs on all American Airlines aircraft, the packages are only valid for flights in what American classifies as its ‘North America’ region. That means that if you’re flying within the United States or between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, these plans will cover you. They will not cover you on long-haul flights to South America or across one of the oceans.
Flyers who currently have a monthly Gogo Wi-Fi subscription (which doesn’t offer Wi-Fi on wide-body aircraft with Wi-Fi supplied by Panasonic) can migrate to one of the new plans via this link.
Key terms
- To purchase one of these plans you must have an American Airlines AAdvantage account with a valid stored primary credit or debit card or another supported form of payment with a billing address in one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia.
- Addresses in U.S. territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico do not qualify.
- Access will start immediately once your purchase is complete.
- Hassle-free, automatic renewal each month with the ability to cancel anytime.
Full details of the new plans can be found on the sign-up page.
Quick thoughts
The Gogo plans were fine for a while, but the more wide-body aircraft with Panasonic Wi-Fi (which Gogo plans don’t support) that American Airlines added to its North America routes the more frustrating things were becoming for frequent flyers. These all-encompassing plans are a good step forward and should please a lot of people.
On the basis that the cost for Wi-Fi for a single flight starts at $10, these packages can offer significant cost savings to road warriors, and to pretty much anyone who takes multiple flights a month and who likes to have access to the internet and emails in the air.
A key thing to look out for when the first American Airlines Wi-Fi plan charges start to appear on credit card bills is who is actually processing the charge.
If the charge is shown to be coming from American Airlines, it should trigger bonus points on credit cards that offer bonuses for travel spending (e.g. card_name), and it should trigger the 5 points/dollar earning rate on card_name (terms apply).
If however, the charge is shown to be coming from a Wi-Fi provider, using a credit card like the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Card could be a good option as it earns 3 points/dollar on internet, cable, and phone services (amongst other things).
Bottom line
American Airlines has just introduced two new monthly Wi-Fi plans which give flyers unlimited internet access on all American Airlines Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft operating in American’s North America region. Plans start at $49.95 and should offer frequent flyers an economical way to stay connected when up in the air.
