Whether you're on a quick flight or in it for a long-haul, airplane Wi-Fi has become more of a necessity than a perk. With insane lines at security, outrageous baggage fees, and having to pay for just about everything, having a connection to Instagram might be the only thing keeping flyers sane when they're 30,000 feet in the air.
The team at Routehappy found that while you have a 39% chance of snagging a flight with Wi-Fi, the service you'll receive is anything but equal. The site shared some big news with Condé Nast Traveler about which carriers have the best service — and you'll be surprised to see which ones earned the top spots.
Domestically speaking, Virgin America and JetBlue can both boast having Wi-Fi on 100% of their contiguous flights (and JetBlue's service is free, at that). Virgin claims that its service is "8 to 10 times faster" than competitors, but CNT calls JetBlue's high-speed internet one of the best in the business.
The airlines that have the best international Wi-Fi are Emirates, Lufthansa, and United. Those carriers can't claim complete coverage, however. Etihad, Iberia, Scoot, and Icelandair can. Also keep in mind that price varies drastically, so you might not always get your money's worth when it comes to internet speed. That means you might be paying big bucks for a slow connection that won't stream Netflix movies, so you'll be stuck refreshing your Insta feed from takeoff to final descent.
That may change, however, because CNT reports that not only are more airlines offering Wi-Fi, the service is getting better. Delta Airlines is already on its third generation internet provider and long-haul overwater flights are starting to incorporate new Ku/Ka satellite tech so that service is quicker and more reliable. While we're still from having free and fast internet on every flight, you can count your blessings and remember that Netflix is letting you download some content to watch offline.
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