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As the world goes more digital, getting free Wi-Fi with airlines is a huge benefit. Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Qatar Airways are some airlines that offer free Wi-Fi already. Now Turkish Airlines has announced it will bring free Wi-Fi to all passengers by 2025.
Here are the current details for Wi-Fi on Turkish Airlines flights and what we can expect by the end of 2025.
Does Turkish Airlines Have Wi-Fi?
Roughly 270 of the 343 aircraft in the Turkish Airlines fleet have Wi-Fi capability. With that said, if you fly on an aircraft with onboard Wi-Fi, there's no guarantee you'll get a strong or consistent connection throughout the flight.
Turkish Airlines offers Wi-Fi on all Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-9, and Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Additionally, you'll get a connection on some Airbus A330-300, Airbus A321-200, and Boeing 737 aircraft.
SMS text messaging is available on widebody aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-9, Airbus A350-900, and some Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
How to Get Free Wi-Fi on Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines currently offers free Wi-Fi for Miles & Smiles members, but with many limitations. On international flights, passengers get the following free Wi-Fi allotment:
- Unlimited Wi-Fi for Miles & Smiles Elite or Elite Plus members flying Business Class.
- 1 GB data and unlimited messaging for all Business Class passengers.
- 400 MB data and unlimited messaging for Miles & Smiles Elite or Elite Plus members flying Economy Class.
- 250 MB and unlimited messaging for Miles & Smiles Classic Plus members.
- Unlimited messaging (and no free data) for all Miles & Smiles Classic members.
On domestic flights within Turkey, business class passengers and Miles & Smiles members get free messaging.
How Much Is Wi-Fi on Turkish Airlines?
If you're not a Miles & Smiles member or are a member but need more data, you can purchase a premium Wi-Fi package. The following (expensive) packages are available:
- Unlimited messaging for $5
- 100 MB for $8
- 250 MB for $15
- Unlimited Wi-Fi on short-haul flights for $15
- Unlimited Wi-Fi on long-haul flights for $35
Per numerous passenger accounts, the current speed of Turkish Airlines onboard Wi-Fi is hit or miss. Some report good connections throughout long-haul flights. Unfortunately, many others said they hardly got any data (and certainly not $35 worth) on their flight.
Free Wi-Fi Coming to Turkish Airlines in 2025
In late July 2024, Turkish Airlines announced its plans to provide free Wi-Fi for all passengers. That's a massive undertaking, considering the size of Turkish Airlines' fleet, with many more aircraft on the way.
The first step was signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TCI Aircraft Interiors and Turksat. But as Turksat's coverage isn't global, we have yet to see whether Turkish Airlines goes with Starlink, Viasat, Inmarsat, or another satellite service provider to fill in the gaps.
It's an ambitious target to retrofit every aircraft within the fleet with high-speed Wi-Fi capabilities. Furthermore, satellite service providers for aviation aren't cheap. It will be interesting to see how Turkish Airlines integrates free Wi-Fi into ticket sales. Is it going to increase prices to cover the cost of the “free” Wi-Fi?
So far, Singapore Airlines is the only global airline to provide free Wi-Fi for all passengers. KrisFlyer members, regardless of status, get unlimited Wi-Fi in all classes. Qatar Airways recently announced plans to provide unlimited high-speed Wi-Fi for all passengers. However, that will only cover three aircraft by the end of 2024 and not the entire fleet until the end of 2026.
Our Take
Free, unlimited onboard Wi-Fi with Turkish Airlines or any other airline sounds great on paper. Only time will tell whether it will actually be high-speed and if any country's airspace will limit unlimited Wi-Fi. Many countries have yet to approve Starlink, and some countries have banned it outright. So if Turkish Airlines goes with Starlink, for instance, will passengers have access to free Wi-Fi on all flights?
For digital nomads like myself, high-speed, unlimited, consistent internet is a must. While I use the inflight entertainment system for movies, I also like to get some work done, especially on long-haul flights. However, I'd have a hard time justifying paying $35 for unlimited Wi-Fi — especially if it might be a spotty connection.
What do you think of getting free high-speed Wi-Fi on Turkish flights? Do you have any experience using its existing Wi-Fi plans? Let us know in the comments below.
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