In two separate announcements, American Airlines will soon offer free Wi-Fi on all its flights, as well as modify its boarding group process.
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Free Wi-Fi starting from 2026
American has finally hopped on the free Wi-Fi train, announcing that from 2026, it will offer free Wi-Fi on board most of its flights. The carrier has also stated that AT&T will be sponsoring the initiative, even though it is unclear what this means in the long run for the customer.
“Our customers greatly value staying connected while in the air, whether communicating with friends, getting work done, checking in on social media or streaming their favorite subscription services,” said Heather Garboden, Chief Customer Officer, American Airlines.
“We’ve been working diligently to outfit our aircraft with best-in-class high-speed Wi-Fi and together with AT&T are proud to offer those services at no cost to our most loyal customers.”
You do not need to be an AT&T customer, but there are two caveats to consider. You’ll need an AAdvantage loyalty account to access it (free to sign up for), and you’ll only get free internet access on ViaSat and Intelsat (Gogo) equipped aircraft.
As American’s Boeing 777-200ERs, -300ERs, 787-9s and some 787-8s are equipped with Panasonic hardware, customers on almost all long-haul and widebody-domestic flights won’t benefit from the free Wi-Fi offer.
Only a handful of newer 787-8s have Viasat hardware, but the airline does plan to upgrade it 777-300ER fleet to offer Viasat service instead of Panasonic.
“New” boarding group
Traditionally, American Airlines had 9 boarding groups as well as pre-boarding for the few who are active military, need assistance, or are ConciergeKey members. Now, first and/or business class members have been bumped up to pre-boarding, while active military have been bumped down to Group 1.
With so many passengers now part of pre-boarding, what’s the point of calling it pre-boarding? American should just say they offer 10 boarding groups and be done with it. Of course, that wouldn’t be a good look from a marketing perspective as this further dilutes the status that loyalty members and associated credit card holders possess.
Here is the updated boarding group table.
| Boarding Group | Who Boards |
|---|---|
| Preboard | ConciergeKey First/Business Families with children ages 2 and under |
| Group 1 | AAdvantage Executive Platinum Active duty U.S. military with military ID |
| Group 2 | AAdvantage Platinum Pro oneworld Emerald |
| Group 3 | AAdvantage Platinum oneworld Sapphire |
| Group 4 | AAdvantage Gold oneworld Ruby AirPass Citi / AAdvantage Executive cardmembers |
| Group 5 | Main Cabin Extra (excluding Basic Economy) AAdvantage members who earn 15,000 Loyalty Points Eligible AAdvantage credit cardmembers |
| Group 6 | AAdvantage members |
| Group 7–8 | Main Cabin |
| Group 9 | Basic Economy |
Adjusted boarding times
Customers traveling on mainline domestic flights will be able to board five minutes earlier than usual, with boarding times starting 35 minutes before departure for Airbus A319 and A320 flights, while Boeing 737 and Airbus A321 flights start 40 minutes before departure.
They claim this should help with reducing the need to gate check bags, as well as improve support on board while customers get settled. Those in first class cabins will also benefit from a better customer experience during boarding.
From my few experiences flying first class domestic, pre-departure service was hit and miss. Sometimes they get it in by the skin of their teeth, while other flights just skipped it entirely.
Five minutes is a lot in the airline industry, so we will see if this added time benefits customers in the long run.
Gate lice repellent showing positive results
In late November, American introduced updated boarding technology that would alert gate agents if customers tried to board ahead of their assigned group. After receiving very positive feedback from travelers and staff members, American has since rolled out this tech to 90% of its customers, covering most of its major hubs. They plan to cover the remaining 10% by the end of 2025.
