American Airlines is looking to give provide passengers with an enhanced in-flight experience by offering free WiFi. But there's a slight catch, as the free service will only be available from April 13th through May 25th on Viasat-equipped narrowbody aircraft.

Attempt to deliver the best experience

Even though American Airlines provides seatback in-flight entertainment on its narrowbody fleet, offering free in-flight connectivity is still undoubtedly an excellent way to help passengers pass the time in the air.

As part of a trial beginning April 13, American is partnering with Viasat to give customers a sample of its industry-leading high-speed WiFi on most Viasat-equipped flights. Customers can choose to watch a short advertisement to unlock a complimentary WiFi sample.

Separate from American's WiFi offerings and the ad-sponsored trial, the airline will continue to offer entertainment options that customers can stream straight to their own devices at no cost. The lineup includes music, movies, TV shows, and a Lifestyle channel featuring the language learning platform Rosetta Stone and Skillshare.

Possibility of a permanent service

The sponsored advertisement is also meant to drive awareness for American Airlines' in-flight portal and help the carrier gain better insights into what in-flight experiences are most meaningful to passengers. Though, an external sponsorship could also generate funds to power the service, similar to how YouTube adverts fund the video streaming service.

The scheme could also be used a trial for the airline to record the types of behavior and usage depending on flight route and length. Once the trial data is received, American Airlines could better target caps on usage or caps on offerings for the future.

The probability of American Airlines making free onboard WiFi a permanent feature is unclear. While some competitors do offer free services, it isn't cheap to provide connectivity at 36,000 feet. Competitors such as JetBlue have been offering such services to passengers for several years now, and Delta Air Lines has reportedly been looking at the possibility as well, recently transitioning to Viasat WiFi from Gogo.

Offering more choices

Besides enhancing its in-flight services, American Airlines also offers more options for passengers to customize their travel with enhanced ease following a renewed partnership with Expedia Group, the airline's biggest third-party agency.

The addition of North American points of sale adds to numerous years of successful flight bookings through an existing connection between the two companies on specific European points of sale. This will then enable both companies to offer passengers more customizable opportunities.

Passengers will now be able to choose elevated offers like Main Plus or complimentary access to Main Cabin Extra, preferred seats, preferred boarding, and a free checked bag in addition to the Main Cabin baggage allowance when booking on Expedia Group sites, as expressed in delight by Neil Geurin, Managing Director of Commercial Partnerships for American Airlines: “We’re proud to expand on our strong relationship with Expedia Group to bring customers more choice. NDC technology creates opportunities for travellers to customize their travel experiences, including premium travel options. We’re eager to hear about their positive experiences made possible through this integration.”

American Airlines is looking to impress

This renewed collaboration between two of travel's most prominent players is undoubtedly a game-changer. In the future, the partnership will also result in the ability to offer additional elevated offers and ancillary options such as carbon offsetting.

With the free in-flight connectivity trial ongoing for the next several weeks and the long-lasting partnership with Expedia Group, it is no doubt that American Airlines is looking to impress passengers.