Airport Wi-Fi

I recently wrote about Wifi onboard Delta and Air Canada and thought I could provide a quick guide on accessing Wifi at JFK Airport. If you have a layover at JFK due to cancellation or just a long connecting flight, having internet access can be a great way to stay connected and get some work done.

Is there Wifi at JFK Airport?

Yes, there is Wifi at JFK Airport. This Wifi is available for anyone to connect to and it’s free. You don’t even need to enter a username or password! All you need to do is open your laptop, tablet, or smartphone and select the “_Free JFK WiFi” option on the recognized networks that your device shows you.

Passengers, personnel, contractors, and visitors alike can all access the free WiFi offered at this iconic airport in any of its public areas – be it boarding gates, food courts, or ticket counters as well as designated workstations.

JetBlue’s Terminal 5 in JFK was previously the only area with complimentary, high-speed internet for visitors. The other terminals were equipped with Boingo: a service that provided thirty minutes of free access before requiring payment and tended to be slow. Fortunately, this system now expands coverage to all parts of the four airports listed above – finally providing travelers with an enjoyable experience!

Is the Wifi at JFK Free?

Yes, the Wifi at JFK is completely free to use. You do not need to provide your credit card information or even enter a username or password. All you need to do is select the “_Free JFK WiFi” option on your recognized networks that your device shows you and you’ll be connected in no time.

This free internet wasn’t always the case.

Up until late 2018, all visitors to the New York Airport who sought WiFi access were required to pay a fee after their complimentary 30 minutes expired. Boingo, the airport’s trusted WiFi provider, ensured that paid service was available in most terminals – with some notable exceptions; JetBlue’s terminal 5 extended free WiFi usage as an inviting perk for its passengers.

JFK Airport’s Terminal 6 in Jamaica, Queens is the place to be if you’re looking for free Wi-Fi access. Ranked number 8 on the Top 20 USA Airports Wi-Fi guide, JetBlue Airways offers no-cost internet service from this terminal alone! Other terminals are serviced by Concourse or Boingo at a charge of $7.95 and an additional fee of $0.12/min can be found in British Airways Lounges. JetBlue Terminal 6 provides complimentary wifi for everyone – making it your go-to destination for online connection needs when traveling through JFK Airport!

JetBlue customers at JFK Terminal 6 can now stay connected at no cost to them! Just look for a sign indicating the JetBlue wireless hotspot, then set your SSID to “default” or “any”, accept the Terms & Conditions, and you will be instantly rerouted to jetblue.com where you are free to access the internet. Emailing colleagues, checking corporate networks, and general web surfing – all made possible by JetBlue’s new complimentary WiFi hotspots in Terminal 6!

Free Wifi Introduced at JFK:

October 2018 marked a momentous occasion for air travelers, with the Port Authority airports announcing that it was going to start offering complimentary and unlimited access to high-speed Wi-Fi. John F. Kennedy International (JFK), Newark Liberty International (EWR), LaGuardia (LGA) and New York Stewart International (SWF) airports were all included in this innovative user experience as part of their ongoing commitment to superior customer service – especially pertinent during the record passenger volumes.

Read the entire press release here.

Unlimited internet is offered by Port Authority at JFK

In October 2019, PANYNJ announced the elimination of their paid internet packages and the introduction of a new high-speed Wi-Fi service. This service offers higher speeds – starting at 20 Megabits per second (Mbps) and up to 50 Mbps with two simple clicks! Passengers can now take advantage of four whole hours’ worth of free access to this blazingly fast connection each day – an amazing offer for travelers.

Before introducing the free wifi service, PANYNJ did a survey that revealed several passengers voicing their strong desire for free high-speed Wi-Fi in the airport. This demand comes at a time when more flyers than ever before are passing through Port Authority airports; according to the first half of 2018 records, over 66.5 million people flew with us – an impressive 4.3% growth from 2017! To meet our customer’s needs and exceed expectations, Port Authority which manages JFK resolved to provide them with fast and reliable internet service as soon as possible.

When I checked again in late 2022 whether the 4-hour limit is still in place, I was glad to see that the policy has been slightly modified to allow free unlimited access with no time limit. If you have a long layover or are spending the night at JFK, you can now enjoy unlimited free wifi to stay connected.

Wifi Instructions: How to connect:

On either an iOS or Android device, scan to check the available network when you are in any of JFK’s terminals and select “_FreeJFKWiFi”

For Android, follow these steps;

• Go to your device’s WiFi settings.
• Activate WiFi.
• Select and join the “_Free JFK WiFi” network.
• On the prompted tab, click on “Free Unlimited WiFi.”
• Enjoy your unlimited WiFi.

For iOS devices, follow these steps;

• Go to your device settings from the home screen.
• Tap on the WiFi bar to activate.
• Choose the SSID “_Free JFK WiFi” from the listed options
• Join and enjoy your WiFi.

For Windows devices, follow these steps to connect;

• Head to Windows Control Panel.
• Find “Network & Internet” and tap on it.
• Select to set up a new connection/network.
• Click “manually connect to a wireless network.”
• Input the SSID “_Free JFK WiFi” as the network name.
• Click on “WPA2-Personal” as a security type.
• Tap “start this connection automatically.”
• Click on the “Next” tab.
• Enjoy your WiFi.

On your Mac, follow these steps;

• Tap WiFi on the bar menu.
• Search for the “_Free JFK WiFi” network.
• Join the network.
• Enjoy.

Which lounges have Wifi at JFK?

• British Airways Lounge on Terminal 8
• Etihad Lounge.
• JetBlue Lounge – no passwords required.
• American Airlines Admirals Club.
• Wingtips Lounge.

You can also call the support helpline; at 1-800-880-4117 if you are struggling to get connected.

Back when they launched the service, PANYNJ launched a site FreeJFKwifi.com.

Passwords to Acces Free JFK Wifi

• Facebook Official
• Twitter Official

Alex Mutuma

My name is Alex Mutuma and I founded this blog, Airport LLC as a way to document and engage with clients in my travel consulting business. Airportllc.com is the only source of over 2,000 fun things flyers could do during layovers.

Over the past 7 years, I have designed and planned tour packages for hundreds of clients and have recently focussed on the mission of changing boring layovers to excellent mini-vacations by giving you the best suggestions on must-do activities when flying over different airports.

Next time you or your friend are looking for suggestions on what to do in some airport, remember Airport LLC or Airportllc.com. On this site, you’ll get the best suggestions available on the internet regarding hand-picked activities that will fulfill your airport experience.

I currently reside in New York City and have obtained a license to provide professional tour guidance at Airports in the US and across the world. Why should you listen to my suggestions? I have flown through more than 100 airports in the world and fortunately, I have pictures, stories, and tips to share with you regarding all the fun stuff you can do as you wait for your next flight.

Aside from gaining thousands of flying miles, I am also a travel consultant assisting clients with bookings and specifically advance tour bookings of things to do at airports when the layover is longer than 5 hours.

To make a 15-minute free things-to-do consultation with Alex, use my email, alex@airportllc.com.

This is only recommended for flyers with long layovers of over 5 hours. If your layover is 3+ hours, you can still reach out but we cannot guarantee the ideal package that will change your layovers to mini-vacations. I only support clients flying through US airports and a select number of cities across the world.

———–

Name: Alex Mutuma

Profession: A professional travel consultant with a focus on airport activities to do during layovers

Email: Alex@airportllc.com

Phone: +1 945 348 889

Website: airportllc.com

Location: 322 Main Packway Street, Boston, US

———–

airportllc.com

As an experienced WiFi expert, I have had the pleasure of testing Air Canada’s in-flight WiFi services on many occasions. From my experience, I can say that Air Canada offers some of the best and most reliable in-flight WiFi services available today. But this may not be the case for everyone as I am not a heavy wifi user doing huge file downloads.

But this may not be the case for everyone as I am not a heavy wifi user doing huge file downloads.

I recently wrote about Delta’s wifi in this guide. In comparing the two airlines, not only does Delta provide greater coverage for its wifi services, but also has more planes in its fleet that feature onboard Wifi compared to Air Canada. It is also important to note that Delta offers larger plans with higher download speeds of up to 1.5 Megabits per second while Air Canada limits its network access to a maximum speed of 500-600 Kibbits per second.

When flying with Air Canada, you can enjoy download speeds of up to 500-600 Kibibits per second and uploads at 300 Kibbits per second.

What is Wifi in airlines?

Wifi in airlines is a service that allows passengers to access the internet while they are flying. It can be used for web browsing, video streaming, and various other web-based activities such as checking emails or using social media. Air Canada’s wifi system uses advanced technology to ensure reliable connections and faster speeds than other airline services.

Some airlines offer wifi in specific domestic or intercontinental flights. Air Canada takes it a step further and offers wifi in most of its domestic and international flights. The airline also provides special features such as streaming entertainment, complimentary access to select websites, and more.

Have you ever questioned how Wi-Fi functions on an airplane? It’s actually quite basic – in a manner similar to your cell phone, the aircraft has an antenna situated under its hull that remotely links up with cellular towers. As the plane moves, it merely connects to whichever transmitter provides the strongest signal and automatically switches as necessary.

Look at AT4G coverage map showing that Wifi is only available for Air Canada flights operating in the lower quarter of Canada’s landmass.

What are the benefits of having Wifi on board?

• Air Canada Wifi helps you stay connected to your friends, family and colleagues during your flight.
• You can use the service to read or write emails, work on documents, or browse through any web pages of your choice.
• You can access a variety of entertainment options such as videos streaming services like Netflix and music streaming apps such as Spotify.
• Get the news – fast and reliable internet connection also helps you stay updated on any important developments that may occur during your flight.
• You can also make use of apps like WhatsApp or iMessage to keep in touch with people back home.

Does Air Canada offer free wifi?

According to its updated website with details of their wifi options, Air Canada offers Wi-Fi on select North American, Caribbean and international flights. This means that select domestic and international customers will be able to enjoy the same Wi-Fi services while flying.

In April 2014, Air Canada made headlines as the first airline in North America to offer inflight wifi as per the Cision Press Release below on this feat;

In 2014, Air Canada took the exciting step of expanding their WiFi connectivity to include two Airbus 319s flying in both Canada and America. As well as these planes, they also planned on installing WiFi access across A319s, A320s, and A321s; Embraer 190 fleet types plus Air Canada Express CRJ-705’s and Embraer 175 aircraft—once an agreement had been reached with Gogo for installation of Air-To-Ground technology.

Do all Air Canada Planes Have Wifi?

Unfortunately not. While there has been progress since the only 2 Wii-enabled Air Canada flights in 2014, some AC flights still do not feature Wifi access. To know for certain, you should check the amenities section on your flight details page or contact Air Canada’s customer service team.

How to know if your Air Canada Flight has Wifi:

To make it easy for you to know which Air Canada Airline has wifi installed onboard, Air Canada has a dedicated page where you can search whether a particular flight from one location such as Vancouver or Sydney to other destinations such as JFK has internet.

You can search for Wifi availability by flight number or by route number. Below is a snapshot showing Air Canada flights from Vancouver to New York’s JFK on Dec 22, 2022, listing those with and those without wifi.

The snapshot below shows the availability status more clearly;

Air Canada’s Wi-Fi status page only displays upcoming five days of availability data. If you don’t find your flight information right away, come back later to check for updates.

Does Air Canada Have Free Wifi?

When Air Canada Partnered with Gogo in 2014 to offer inflight wifi service on trial basis, they wanted to put two satellite-based systems, using Gogo 2KU and Inmarsat GlobalXpress KA-band solutions so they could run tests and improve Wifi speed connection over time.

I could not find info on whether the trial period from 2014 to 2015 required passengers to pay but as of 2022/23, all Wifi packages offered by Air Canada are paid.

About gogo wifi air canada

Gogo is an internet provider for air-to-ground (ATG) technology in aircraft that sets up communication between the plane and the ground. This technology helps airline passengers access the internet while they are in mid-air.

Gogo has been providing inflight Wi-Fi connections to several airlines all over the world since 2005. Hence, Air Canada passengers now have the ability to enjoy Wi-Fi services while they are in mid-air. There are different packages offered by Air Canada depending on the type of connection you need, such as the Gogo Chat and Text option which is ideal for basic messaging and browsing, or the more comprehensive Gogo Unlimited with speeds up to 10 Mbps.

How much does Air Canada Wifi Cost?

You can purchase CAD $6.50 to get 1-hour internet access on your Air Canada flight. For a full 1-way pass, you pay $21 CAD and can also opt for monthly access for a price of $65.95 CAD. On a flight from Sydney to Vancouver which lasts for approximately 7 hours, you can expect to pay around $45 CAD for access but can also opt for the cheaper 1-way pass of just $21 CAD.

For short flights lasting less than 3 hours, it is better to get the day pass of $6.5 per hour which adds to $19.5 CAD and which is still less than the $21 CAD for a 1-way Wifi pass.

See the three plans in the snapshot below;

Here is the webpage to choose the subscription you want to purchase.

If you decide to purchase you flight when you’ve boarded instead of making the purchase in advance on Gogo’s website, you can do so by following the instruction you can find on AC website here;

• Step 1:Turn on Wifi while on Airplane mode.
• Step 2:Connect to ACWIFI or RougeWifi network
• Step 3: Open your browser and type “aircanadawifi.com” or rougewifi.com”“ (on Air Canada Rouge flights) in the search bar.

The Air Canada Wifi app isn’t really there as they rely entirely on Gogo, an external service provider. You can however download the Air Canada App for iOS or Android here.

Does Air Canada have free wifi on international flights?

Canada does not have free wifi on all its international flights. On its website, it states that select Caribbean and North America flights have Wifi installed. Air Canada may offer complimentary wifi on select international flights where the airline has a promotional agreement with Gogo or the service provider.

I was honestly expecting Air Canada to have an internet connection available for its long flights as many airlines have tried to make international flights bearable by installing Wifi. Here is a list of all flights with onboard wifi

Air Canada wifi hack

I was surprised to learn of ways people try to access Air Canada Wifi without paying by hacking using VPN. With VPN, you can access the internet free of cost as it changes your IP address. But this is against Air Canada’s policy and punishable by law, so I do not recommend doing it. One Reddit user was, however, quick to point out that Gogo’s terms of use do not explicitly prohibit backdoor accessing of their Wifi using VPN.

Read more from this Reddit discussion on how to hack Wifi on Air Canada flight.

Air Canada Fleet that have Wifi onboard:

Wide-body fleet:

• Boeing 777-300ER (77W)
• Boeing 777-200LR (77L)
• Airbus A330-300 (333)
• Boeing 787-9 (789)
• Boeing 787-8 (788)

Narrow-body fleet with internet:

• Airbus A321-200 (321)
• Airbus A220-300 (223)
• Airbus A320-200 (320)
• Airbus A319-100 (319)
• Embraer E175 (E75)
• Mitsubishi CRJ900 (CR9)
• Airbus A321-200 (321)
• Airbus A319-100 (319)

FAQs

Q: How do I connect to Air Canada wifi?

A: First, make sure your device is in airplane mode. Then, turn on the Wifi and connect to either “ACWIFI” or “RougeWifi”, depending on which type of flight you’re taking. Finally, open a browser window and type “aircanadawifi.com” or “rougewifi.com” (on Air Canada Rouge flights) into the address bar.

Q: Can I access Air Canada’s internet for free?

A: No. Air Canada does not offer free Wifi on any of their flights. You can purchase a subscription plan depending on the length of your flight if that particular flight has wifi onboard.

Q: Does Wifi work on Airplane mode?

A: Yes. To connect to Air Canada’s Wifi, you need to be on airplane mode and then turn on Wifi. Remember, Wifi uses radio signals, which are blocked by airplane mode. However, you can turn on Wifi without disabling airplane mode in order to access the internet.

Q: Is it safe to use Air Canada’s Wifi?

A: Yes. Air Canada ensures all its customers have a secure and reliable connection onboard with their fleet-wide wifi service. There hasn’t been any reported case of data theft or security breach. All transactions are also encrypted, so you don’t have to worry about any confidential information being shared without your permission.

Q: How can I access airline wifi without paying?

A: Unfortunately, you cannot access Air Canada’s Wifi without paying. However, certain promotional offers may be available, so it is always best to check with the airline before your flight. Also, some people try to hack into Air Canada’s wifi by using a VPN, but this is not recommended as it is against Air Canada’s policy and is punishable by law.

Please check back soon for other Wifi or internet service-related guides for specific airlines such as Alaska, Air India, Emirates, Air Europa, and more.

Alex Mutuma

My name is Alex Mutuma and I founded this blog, Airport LLC as a way to document and engage with clients in my travel consulting business. Airportllc.com is the only source of over 2,000 fun things flyers could do during layovers.

Over the past 7 years, I have designed and planned tour packages for hundreds of clients and have recently focussed on the mission of changing boring layovers to excellent mini-vacations by giving you the best suggestions on must-do activities when flying over different airports.

Next time you or your friend are looking for suggestions on what to do in some airport, remember Airport LLC or Airportllc.com. On this site, you’ll get the best suggestions available on the internet regarding hand-picked activities that will fulfill your airport experience.

I currently reside in New York City and have obtained a license to provide professional tour guidance at Airports in the US and across the world. Why should you listen to my suggestions? I have flown through more than 100 airports in the world and fortunately, I have pictures, stories, and tips to share with you regarding all the fun stuff you can do as you wait for your next flight.

Aside from gaining thousands of flying miles, I am also a travel consultant assisting clients with bookings and specifically advance tour bookings of things to do at airports when the layover is longer than 5 hours.

To make a 15-minute free things-to-do consultation with Alex, use my email, alex@airportllc.com.

This is only recommended for flyers with long layovers of over 5 hours. If your layover is 3+ hours, you can still reach out but we cannot guarantee the ideal package that will change your layovers to mini-vacations. I only support clients flying through US airports and a select number of cities across the world.

———–

Name: Alex Mutuma

Profession: A professional travel consultant with a focus on airport activities to do during layovers

Email: Alex@airportllc.com

Phone: +1 945 348 889

Website: airportllc.com

Location: 322 Main Packway Street, Boston, US

———–

airportllc.com