How to Find Out If Your Flight Has Wi-Fi, and How Much It'll Cost

Nowadays many planes come with internet access for an arguably small fee. Some airlines offer Wi-Fi across their entire fleet while others only on certain types of planes and flights. If you want to find out if you can stay connected during your flight, you only need to know where to look.

In the past, we reported a site called HasWifithat no longer tells you if your flight has Wi-Fi. This post exists to fill the void. While a dedicated tool would be nice, it's pretty easy to check without one.

Which Airlines Offer Wi-Fi and How Much Does It Cost?

Some airlines offer Wi-Fi across their entire fleet or come really close. Here's a list of those we know about and how often you can expect to find Wi-Fi on your plane (although most of these numbers refer to US domestic flights):

• Virgin America: 100% of flights. Costs $4.95 to $19.95 for mobile and $11.00 - $49.00 for computers.
• AirTran Airways: 100% of flights. Costs $4.95 to $19.95 for mobile and $11.00 - $49.00 for computers.
• Delta: 65% of flights (which means nearly every flight if you fly popular routes). Costs $4.95 to $19.95 for mobile and $11.00 - $49.00 for computers.
• Southwest: 2,320 flights. Costs $8 per day of flying, regardless of the number of flights you take.
• US Airways: About 90% of flights. Costs $4.95 to $19.95 for mobile and $11.00 - $49.00 for computers.
• United Airlines: On some Boeing 747-400, Airbus 319, and Airbus 320 planes (see their page for a progress report). Costs $4.95 to $19.95 for mobile and $11.00 - $49.00 for computers.
• American Airlines: In-flight Wi-Fi is available on all 767-200 and 737 aircrafts and most MD80 and 757 aircrafts. Costs $4.95 to $19.95 for mobile and $11.00 - $49.00 for computers.
• Air Canada: All flights on an Airbus 319. Costs $4.95 to $19.95 for mobile and $11.00 - $49.00 for computers.
• Alaska Air: Specific number unknown, but almost every flight has Wi-Fi. Costs $4.95 to $19.95 for mobile and $11.00 - $49.00 for computers.
• Jet Blue: Limited access on some planes, full access on others. Availability isn't clear at the moment, but some sources say Airbus 320 planes may offer access.

For official in-flight Wi-Fi information from the airlines, just click their linked names in the list above.

It's also worth noting that if you fly between Los Angeles and San Francisco (LAX SFO), New York and Los Angeles (JFK LAX), or Atlanta and Orlando (ATL MCO) you're almost guaranteed Wi-Fi on your flight.

How to Check If Your Flight Has Wi-Fi

You can find out if your flight has Wi-Fi a variety of ways, but we like to use flight searches to uncover the data. Certain sites provide this information. While not accurate 100% of the time, they're as close as you'll get without official word from the airline. Use these tools to search for your flight and they'll tell you if you'll have Wi-Fi:

• SeatGuru: Designed for finding the best seat on a plane, but offers information about Wi-Fi and other amenities as a natural extension of the service.
• Hipmunk: Designed for finding flights but will identify those with Wi-Fi.
• Routehappy: Designed for finding flights but will identify those with Wi-Fi.

Use any of those tools and you can figure out if your flight has Wi-Fi before you book it or depart.

Title image remixed from an original by epSos.de.