While seat comfort, leg space, food, and luggage limits are among the most important factors that people consider when selecting an airline, another consideration for some is the in-flight Wi-Fi experience. If this is a factor that you also consider, you"ll be pleased to know that Ookla, the creator of the popular Speedtest.net web service, may have an answer for you.
Based on its measurement data from the first quarter of 2025, Ookla has crowned Hawaiian Airlines the best when it comes to offering in-flight Wi-Fi, using download speed as a metric. The airlines reported figures of 57.78Mbps (10th percentile), 161.76Mbps (median), and 276.24Mbps (90th percentile). Qatar Airways ranked second with speeds of 15.45Mbps, 120.6Mbps, and 236.96Mbps. The third spot was taken by Spirit Airlines with 28.67Mbps, 84.73Mbps, and 128.78Mbps. This may come as a surprise to many since Spirit Airlines is a relatively low-cost airline.
In upload speeds and multi-server latency, Qatar Airways ranked first, followed by Hawaiian Airlines. Air Canada took the third spot for upload speeds, while on the multi-server latency side of the fence, it was taken by Air New Zealand.
Ookla has attributed Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways commendable performance to their utilization of Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. The firm also noted that download speeds across almost all airlines it measured were "very usable", but the upload speeds and latency aren"t ideal for use cases like multiplayer gaming sessions and video calls.
Ookla has also reminded viewers of these statistics that in-flight Wi-Fi experiences are not seamless and are highly dependent on other factors like airline routes and the model of the airplane that you are traveling in. When it comes to the latter, many airplanes have old equipment for internet connectivity, and it is very expensive to upgrade. That said, it highlighted the fact that many airlines now consider the in-flight Wi-Fi experience an essential perk to offer customers; both United Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines have begun collaborating with Starlink in this space.
While Starlink is currently the clear leader in this (air)space, there are other competitors such as Hughes, Intelsat, Viasat, and Panasonic Avionics Corporation that are vying for the top ISP spot. You can view Ookla"s report in detail here.