Earlier this year, Southwest trialed free Wi-Fi on select routes. Now the carrier seems to be doing a larger version of that initial trial, offering free wi-fi to all Rapid Rewards members.
Free Wi-Fi for Rapid Rewards Members
The Dallas based carrier is offering free wi-fi to passengers between August 8 and August 14, 2025. This offer is available to members of the airline’s Rapid Rewards loyalty program. The airline sent emails to passengers notifying them of the offer though it didn’t go to all Rapid Rewards members (I didn’t get an email). I would assume that this was only sent to passengers who have flights booked during the promotional period.
According to the notification, the free wi-fi promotion is being done in an effort to thank passengers for their loyalty. The timing of this makes sense as Southwest has recently undergone a slew of changes as it looks to reposition itself in the travel market by adding assigned seating and eliminating its free checked bags policy on most fares.
We’ve seen a major push for free wi-fi across the industry with United, Delta, and American announcing plans to bring free Wi-Fi to the skies so it makes sense that Southwest will be looking to follow suit. After what appears to have been a successful trial, Southwest is launching free wi-fi for a limited time and hopefully we will see this become permanent in the near future.
Summary
Southwest Airlines will offer free wi-fi to passengers who are members of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program. The offer is only for a limited time but could be another step towards the airline offering the service permanantly.
Special thanks to Blake for flagging this.