There are two operating systems for airplane WiFi: ground-based and satellite. Air-to-ground WiFi works in a similar way to your cell phone. Airplanes have an antenna located underneath their body, which links up with cell towers. As the aircraft travels, it simply connects to the nearest transmitter on a rolling basis. The airplane becomes a hotspot, so passengers can do everything they would normally do when connected to the Internet, including sending emails, making calls, and even streaming movies. 

However, this system can’t work when the plane is flying over large expanses of water, like on transatlantic routes. That’s where satellite comes in.

Satellite WiFi uses a network of orbiting satellites to allow a connection. The satellite is linked to ground stations, and the airplane conn...