The main cabin of a American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER jet.
- American will start testing free inflight internet service on three routes next week.
- The carrier is under pressure to offer complimentary Wi-Fi as more airlines launch the service free of charge.
- American has been in the process of working to win back customers after a failed business travel sales strategy last year.
American Airlines is planning to test complimentary inflight Wi-Fi starting next week as pressure mounts on carriers to offer the service free of charge.
The tests will 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.
More and more carriers have either launched or are preparing to offer free inflight Wi-Fi, making it harder for competitors to charge for connectivity. American's prices vary and are some of 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 so, when.
Delta Air Lines two years ago announced it would make Wi-Fi free for members of its SkyMiles loyalty program, following JetBlue Airways. United Airlines plans to offer complimentary Wi-Fi on board this year using Elon Musk's Starlink satellite Wi-Fi, a service Hawaiian Airlines, which was acquired by Alaska Airlines, also uses.
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"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," American's chief customer officer, Heather Garboden, said in a staff memo Friday.
In addition to facing more competition for a complimentary service, Fort Worth, Texas-based American has been in the process of working to win back customers after a failed business travel sales strategy last year.
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"While relatively small in scope, this is already a big stride in our organization's very critical work to give our customers what we know they want," Garboden said.
