Does British Airways have in-flight wi-fi?

Someone asked me last week if the new A380 and B787 deliveries to BA would finally deliver a decent wi-fi experience.  Does British Airways finally have in-flight wi-fi?  The answer is No, unfortunately.

As Frank van der Post, BA’s ‘customer experience’ boss said in The Daily Telegraph recently:

Perhaps most controversially the [new A380 and B787] planes will not offer Wi-Fi, which is widely available on Virgin, Emirates and Qatar Airways. “We might get it later when the technology improves,” van der Post says.

When I flew to New York in Lufthansa First Class in February, one of the most interesting things was the ability to use the internet onboard.  I even managed to write part of my review of the flight!  The price isn’t the cheapest (€11 per hour) but Lufthansa had sent me a free one-hour voucher code as a special offer some months previously.  It worked surprisingly well.

The only British Airways service that currently offers in-flight wi-fi is the service from London City Airport to New York JFK.  This offers the ‘OnAir’ system, which allows you to use your existing mobile phone contract for browsing.  Pricing is based on whatever your mobile network has agreed with OnAir.  Full details of this service are here.

One European airline is offering free wi-fi.  Norwegian, the low-cost Scandinavian carrier, now has wi-fi on the majority of its flights, and even shows you when booking if your flight will have the service.

Hong Kong Airlines also offers free wi-fi on a number of its routes, but that is a carrier you are less likely to be using.  Are there any other free wi-fi airlines out there? 

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.