How to Find Out if Your United Flight Will Have Wi-Fi

Inflight WiFi has literally changed flying.  Business travel is more productive, flights go by quicker, and kids can stay entertained for hours without crying.  Of the major US airlines, United is pretty late to the game with their inflight Wi-Fi rollout.  But they are catching up quickly.  As a general rule, if you're flying on an A319 or A320, your flight will have WiFi.  The Boeing fleet only has 34 planes configured and most of them are long haul 747s.

Inflight Wi-Fi on yesterday's flight from SFO to DEN

For a variety of reasons, it's often helpful to know if your flight will have internet access prior to boarding.  There's a super easy way to figure this out.

• First, download the United iOS or Android app to your phone.
• Log in to your app and tap "Flight status"
• Either enter your flight number or city pairs (i.e. DEN - SFO)
• Select your flight if applicable
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap "Amenities"

The "Inflight Entertainment" section shows if Wi-Fi is available.  Even if the amenities include Wi-Fi, there's always the possibility that Wi-Fi is available and doesn't work or the aircraft gets swapped prior to your flight.  But spend ten seconds before your flight and check it out.

I find that the service ($6.99 on most domestic flights) is really valuable for the price.  I'm able to be productive/entertained for the entire flight (checking email, writing a blog post, working, reading the news, etc...) and look forward to the day United has Wi-Fi installed fleet wide and I don't need to check prior to my flight.