Air Canada is set to become the latest airline to make staying connected easier.
The Canadian carrier said Thursday it will offer free gate-to-gate Wi-Fi in a phased introduction to its fleet, with the first phase starting this coming spring. This feature will eventually be available on all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights, along with most Air Canada Express aircraft.
The airline said flights within North America and the Caribbean will first get the free connectivity, with the rollout expected to begin in May 2025. Air Canada plans to introduce free Wi-Fi on long-haul international flights sometime in 2026.
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Notably, the fleet of de Havilland Canada Q400, or “Dash 8,” turboprop aircraft that fly on the Air Canada Express regional network will also be retrofitted with free-to-use Wi-Fi. Air Canada said it will be the first time an airline will install in-flight Wi-Fi on a Q400 — “including those flying out of Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport,” the carrier said in a statement.
The latter is a reference to Air Canada’s competition with boutique carrier Porter Airlines at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), where both airlines use only Q400 turboprops at the nearby downtown airfield. Porter offers Wi-Fi on its Embraer aircraft that fly from other airports, but not on its Q400s that fly from YTZ.
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As for Air Canada’s Wi-Fi, while it’s easy to work with, there’s a catch: To connect to the Wi-Fi without paying, passengers must be members of the airline’s Aeroplan Frequent Flyer program and logged into their account. Fortunately, anyone can join Aeroplan for free before their flights. If for some reason passengers don’t want to sign up for the program, they can pay a fee to go online, the airline said. Air Canada already offers free texting on some flights, which similarly require an Aeroplan account.
According to Air Canada, this connectivity will be sponsored by telecommunications service provider Bell.
An increasing number of airlines have begun offering free Wi-Fi in recent years, although most still charge a fee to connect during flights.
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Beginning in 2023, Delta Air Lines began offering free Wi-Fi to all SkyMiles members on most of its domestic mainline fleet, although some older aircraft types were initially excluded. The airline launched free connectivity on long-haul flights earlier this summer, with a full rollout scheduled in phases by the end of 2025.
United Airlines, Air Canada’s Star Alliance partner, said in September that it also plans to offer free Wi-Fi on flights after 2025 when it begins installing StarLink service on its fleet.
JetBlue, meanwhile, became the first US airline to offer free Wi-Fi in 2017, and continues today.
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