Airlines offering the world's best in-flight Wi-Fi experiences

While seat comfort, legroom, food, and baggage allowance are among the most important and basic factors that people consider when choosing an airline, another factor that is gaining increasing attention is the in-flight Wi-Fi experience. Ookla, the developer of the popular Speedtest.net web service, recently released a list of the airlines that offer the fastest in-flight Wi-Fi in the world.

Based on Q1/2025 measurements, Hawaiian Airlines was ranked number one by Ookla for in-flight Wi-Fi experience based on download speeds, with the following metrics:

1. 57.78Mbps
2. 161.76Mbps
3. 276.24Mbps

Qatar Airways came in second with speeds of 15.45Mbps, 120.6Mbps, and 236.96Mbps, respectively. Spirit Airlines came in third (28.67Mbps/84.73Mbps/128.78Mbps) – a surprising result considering it's a budget airline.

In terms of upload speed and multi-server latency, the specific rankings are as follows:

1. Qatar Airways leads both categories
2. Hawaiian Airlines ranked second
3. Air Canada ranks third in upload speed
4. Air New Zealand ranked third for delays

Ookla said Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways' impressive performance was due to the fact that those airlines are now using the Starlink low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation as their internet service. The company also noted that download speeds on most of the airlines it measured were "very usable," but upload speeds and latency weren't ideal for use cases like multiplayer gaming sessions and video calls.

Ookla also notes that the in-flight Wi-Fi experience can be inconsistent and highly dependent on other factors like the airline's route and the type of plane you're flying on. Many planes have older internet connectivity, and upgrading can be costly. But it's worth noting that many airlines now consider in-flight Wi-Fi an essential amenity to offer their customers.

You can see Ookla's detailed report here .

Jessica Tanner

Update 05 July 2025