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As anyone who does even a modicum of flying knows, having a solid Wi-Fi connection while stuck on an airplane can make the trip significantly more enjoyable and/or productive. (So is being able to bring your own alcohol on the plane – legally – but that’s a whole other story.)
So, in addition to your choice of seat, being able to get your luggage quickly at baggae claim, and NOT being one of the first people to board the plane, Wi-Fi is just one of the many important ways you can make your trip more pleasurable (or at least tolerable).
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But knowing which airline has the best Wi-Fi service is not really common knowledge. Thankfully, flight shopping platform Routehappy recently published its annual airline Wi-Fi ratings!
Here’s what they discovered…
• 82 airlines worldwide now offer in-flight Wi-Fi.
• 12 additional airlines now offer in-flight Wi-Fi, representing a 17% increase from the 2017 report.
• Nearly half (43%) of all available seat miles (ASM) worldwide now offer at least a chance of Wi-Fi; up 10% from the 2017 report.
• U.S. airlines offer at least a chance of Wi-Fi on 86% of their ASMs, with 85% of ASMs fully rolled out.
• Non-U.S. airlines offer at least a chance of Wi-Fi on 32% of their ASMs, up by 14% from the 2017 report.
• The top three airlines that offer the most ASMs with Wi-Fi are Delta, American, and Emirates, respectively.
• Three carriers now offer Wi-Fi on 100% of their flights: Icelandair, Southwest, and Virgin Atlantic.
• 13 airlines globally offer Wi-Fi on 100% of long-haul flights (over 2,800 miles): Air Europa, Delta, Emirates, Etihad, Eurowings, EVA Air, Iberia, Kuwait, Lufthansa, SAS, Scoot, United, and Virgin Atlantic.
• Best Wi-Fi is now available on 16% of ASMs worldwide, representing a staggering 129% increase from the 2017 report.
• Basic Wi-Fi continues to lose ground, now representing just 27% of connected ASMs worldwide, a 16% decrease from the 2017 report.
• Better Wi-Fi remains the most common type of Wi-Fi, at 57% of ASMs worldwide. While Better Wi-Fi represents a majority of ASMs, it is now losing ground to Best Wi-Fi as airlines upgrade existing systems or start fresh with Best Wi-Fi.
Terms explained…
Available seat miles (ASM): A standard industry measure of an airline’s passenger carrying capacity; it is the number of seats for sale multiplied by the number of miles flown. Example: A 200-seat aircraft operating a 2,500-mile flight offers 500,000 ASMs.
Best Wi-Fi: Fastest Wi-Fi systems currently available, capable of advanced media streaming (whether allowed by airline or not); comparable to a home connection.
Better Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi systems capable of full web browsing and limited media streaming.
Basic Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi systems providing basic web browsing and no media streaming capabilities.
Long-haul: Flights longer than 2,800 miles, approximately five hours or longer (minimum requirement for comparison of seven Wi-Fi equipped aircraft operating a total minimum of seven long-haul flights each day)
Full chance: 100% of a scheduled subfleet has Wi-Fi installed.
Very good chance: More than ⅔ of a scheduled subfleet has Wi-Fi installed.
Good chance: ⅓ to ⅔ of a scheduled subfleet has Wi-Fi installed.
Some chance: Up to ⅓ of a scheduled subfleet has Wi-Fi installed.
No chance: Either a scheduled subfleet has no Wi-Fi installed or operates outside of the installed technology’s coverage area. Flights with partial coverage are counted as having Wi-Fi.
View the Routehappy’s complete report here.