The Best In-Flight Wi-Fi In 2025: Report

Ookla reveals which airlines offer the most robust in-flight Wi-Fi in a new report.

Midmarket IT executives tend to be on the go. They attend industry events, continuous learning classes, and endless meetings. When they are traveling, it's imperative for them to stay connected to their teams and business operations, which often means a need for reliable internet connectivity on an airplane.

Overall, consumers are dissatisfied with in-flight Wi-Fi. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, in-flight Wi-Fi ranked lower by customers than baggage handling, seat comfort, and in-flight food options.

But which airlines are currently offering the best in-flight Wi-Fi service? A new report from Ookla, which provides networking and connectivity insights, revealed which airlines currently offer the best in-flight Wi-Fi experience.

Ookla’s methodology involved using its Speedtest benchmark to measure download and upload speeds, as well as the latency of in-flight connectivity service providers. These providers use an array of connectivity technologies including low-earth orbit satellite (LEO), geo stationary orbit (GEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), multi-orbit/hybrid, and ground-based LTE.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways took top places as having the speediest download and upload speeds, as well as reduced latency when compared with other airlines. Both make use of Starlink’s LEO satellite technology. Hawaiian tested with a media download speed of 161.76 Mbps, and Qatar achieved a benchmark of 120.6 Mbps download.

• Honorable mentions included Spirit Airlines, Air Canada, Delta Airlines, Breeze Airlines, American Airlines and Aeromexico, all of which tested with “very respectable median download speeds,” according to a news release from Ookla, and offered upload speeds to “support basic uplink connectivity” for needs like email.

• Lufthansa fared the worst among tested airline Wi-Fi, managing only 3.91 in median download speed. Ookla cited the poor performance to its connectivity being “limited by the Deutsche Telekom LTE ground-to-air network.”
• Ookla noted some challenges airlines face in providing adequate Wi-Fi. The connectivity service an airline uses may be hampered by the airline’s routes, airplane models, or may be restricted by governments when crossing over some territories. Moreover, older in-flight Wi-Fi equipment can take time and considerable cost to upgrade.

Access Ookla’s full report here.