Staying in touch at 36,000 feet just got a little easier. Air Canada today (May 1, 2025) introduced “fast, free Wi-Fi” for Aeroplan members for Air Canada and Air Canada rouge flights across North America, and also on sun destination flights for the Caribbean and Mexico. “We now offer Wi-Fi on 88% of our fleet, with the remaining installations to be completed by early 2026,” said Mark Nasr, Executive Vice President & Chief Operations Officer at Air Canada. “This will include an industry first with the upcoming launch of Wi-Fi on Air Canada Express Q400s serving Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.” Read more
free Wi-Fi
Free beer and wine on board has been a staple of Porter Airlines for years. Now you can add free Wi-Fi on their new Embraer Jets. “Porter Airlines is unveiling an exceptional new economy air travel experience that challenges what every North American airline offers,” officials said in a media release issued this morning (06 DEC). “Building on its distinct, longstanding regional service, Porter will elevate economy flying for everyone in its greatly expanding network.” It will be fascinating to see how this kind of service plays out and how the paying public reacts to free Wi-Fi. Porter also says Read more
Nice Canadians? I don’t think so. At least not when it comes to travel and social media. The latest study by hotels.com finds that our mobile phones have become such a part of our lives that we’re willing to skip sightseeing or time at the beach to do our social media updates. The study said 36 per cent of Canadian travellers admit to uploading photos to social media to gloat, while 20 per cent admit to checking into places on social media just to make friends jealous. Isn’t that awful? I feel BADLY when I post great photos from Canada Read more
Hotel Wi-Fi is one of those touchstone issues travellers love to talk about. Who’s got the best? And who’s got it for free? There’s a new study out from Hotel WiFi Test that ranks hotels around the world, which is a great idea. The bad news for Canadians is there’s no Canada table. But there is date for Europe and the U.S. and Asia, so it’s still pretty useful. And a bit surprising. Despite continuing criticism, there are far too many hotels in the U.S. that charge for Wi-Fi, which I’ve argued is like charging for water in the shower Read more
What a great, progressive step. Hyatt Hotels has announced that, starting February 2015, ALL guests in ALL Hyatt properties will get free Wi-Fi. In a great item posted at skift.com, writer Jason Clampet notes that “the rollout will include all hotel brands, including the select-service Hyatt Place properties and up through its premium Park Hyatt offering. Use of Wi-Fi will not be limited to members of its loyalty programs, as was previously done at some brands. Hyatt Gold Passport members will have access to premium Wi-Fi service at some properties.” “Internet connectivity is no longer an amenity. It has become Read more
