As plane passengers increasingly look to stay connected while flying, several airlines are looking to differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering free WiFi access to first-class passengers and everyone on board.
In late 2024, Air Canada became the first major airline to announce it would offer free WiFi on all its flights (the process of achieving this on some of the airline’s smaller aircraft is still ongoing), while American Airlines was recently the last to join rivals Delta and United in pledging to offer free WiFi on all flights by the end of 2026.
Air France-KLM also made this commitment in September 2025, while Lufthansa is now stepping up its announced plans to retrofit its entire fleet of more than 850 aircraft with full WiFi capabilities by 2029.
Germany’s main airline group backs not only eponymous Lufthansa but also airlines including Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Alitalia, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti and Edelweiss. Newer aircraft will be equipped with aisles first.
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The launch is part of the Lufthansa Group’s move to Starlink; the first aircraft will be equipped with the new product in 2026, while the entire fleet is expected to be completed by 2029.
“On the occasion of Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary, we have decided to launch the new Starlink high-speed internet solution for all airlines,” Lufthansa Group Chief Commercial Officer Dieter Vranckx said in a statement. “The Lufthansa Group is taking the next step and setting an important milestone for customers’ premium travel experience. In-flight connectivity plays an important role today, and with Starlink we are not only investing in the best products on the market, but also improving passenger satisfaction.”
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Currently, airlines address the issue of speeds and connectivity stretched by heavy usage by requiring customers to add their loyalty number to the ticket when checking in or otherwise log into their membership account before the flight. Loyalty memberships are free for everyone to create, but many travelers forget to add them to their tickets and therefore lose access to free WiFi while on the plane.
