Air Canada is about to become the latest airline to make it easy to stay connected.
The Canadian carrier said Thursday it will make gate-to-gate Wi-Fi available for free on all its ships in a phased rollout, with the first phase starting this coming spring. The service will eventually be available on all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flights, as well as most Air Canada Express flights.
Flights from North America and the Caribbean will get better connections first, with the rollout expected to begin in May 2025, the airline said. Air Canada plans to introduce free Wi-Fi on long-haul flights by 2026.
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Notably, the fleet of De Havilland Canada Q400, or “Dash 8,” turboprop aircraft that fly across the Air Canada Express regional network will also be retrofitted with free Wi-Fi. Air Canada said it will be the first time an airline has installed in-flight Wi-Fi on the Q400 — “including those flying out of Billy Bishop Airport,” the airline said in a statement.
The latter may refer to Air Canada’s rivalry with Porter Airlines at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), where both airlines use only Q400 turboprops at the city’s closest airport. 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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Regarding Air Canada’s Wi-Fi, there is one catch, although it’s easy to work with: To connect to Wi-Fi without paying, passengers must be members of the airline’s Aeroplan frequent flyer program, and log into their accounts. Fortunately, anyone can join Aeroplan for free before their flights. If for some reason a passenger does not want to sign up for the program, they will be able to pay a fee to get online, the airline said. Air Canada already offers free texting on other airlines, which similarly requires an Aeroplan account.
Communications will be supported by telecommunications service provider Bell, according to Air Canada.
A growing number of airlines have begun offering free Wi-Fi in recent years, although many still charge connection fees during the flight.
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In early 2023, Delta Air Lines began offering free Wi-Fi to all SkyMiles members on most of its domestic flights, although some older aircraft models were not initially included. The airline began rolling out free connectivity on long-haul flights earlier this summer, with a full rollout planned in phases until the end of 2025.
Air Canada’s Star Alliance partner United Airlines said in September that it also plans to offer free Wi-Fi flights starting later in 2025 when it begins installing Starlink service on all its fleets.
JetBlue, on the other hand, became the first US airline to offer free Wi-Fi in 2017, and it continues today.
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