business

Max Knoblauch4/15/25

American Airlines ends its holdout, becomes the last major airline to offer free Wi-Fi

As the US aviation industry grips the armrest through trade war turbulence, American Airlines has decided at last to join the free Wi-Fi club.

The airline said free in-flight internet will be available to its loyalty members on 90% of its flights beginning in January 2026 through a partnership with AT&T. American began testing the service early last month.

American had been holding out on free Wi-Fi and even free messaging on its flights and falling behind rivals. Delta Air Lines started the service in 2023, while United Airlines last year announced plans to outfit its airplanes with Starlink beginning in May. Southwest Airlines offers free messaging and entertainment — something American in 2017 said it was planning to add but never did.

American currently sells a connection plan for $35 on cross-country routes, one of the industry’s priciest scrolling fees. It made an estimated $8.4 billion in ancillary revenue (bags, Wi-Fi, in-flight food, etc.) in 2023.

More Business

See all Business

Max Knoblauch10h

US plane maker Boeing delivered 44 jets in November, marking a 17% dip from October but a drastic recovery from its 13 deliveries in the same month last year amid its machinists’ strike.

Boeing, which closed its $4.7 billion acquisition of key supplier Spirit AeroSystems on Monday, has delivered 537 jets year to date in 2025, significantly ahead of the 348 it delivered last year. Earlier this month, the company said its recovery was “in full force” and it expects positive free cash flow in 2026.

European rival Airbus expanded its annual delivery lead in the month, handing 72 jets over to customers. The manufacturer has made 657 deliveries on the year so far, but recently cut its annual delivery target to 790 from 820 due to quality issues.

in this econemy

Magnum, the world’s largest ice cream maker, just went public at a ~$9.2 billion valuation

Unilever’s newly spun-off ice cream arm says its business is far from “volatile” and that GLP-1s may dent demand less than feared.

chocolate ice cream popsicle

Claire Yubin Oh

Estée Lauder’s Jo Malone is launching an “AI Scent Advisor” to convince people to buy perfumes without smelling them

Gen Z is driving a perfume and fragrance boom.

Skunk

business

Max Knoblauch12/4/25

Netflix is down amid reports it’s leading the Warner Bros. bidding war as Paramount cries foul

Netflix’s charm offensive appears to be working.

Netflix is reportedly emerging as the leader in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery after second-round bids this week, edging out entertainment juggernaut rivals Comcast and Paramount Skydance.

Investors don’t appear psyched by the streaming leader’s turn of fortune: the stock is down on Thursday morning, a day after closing down nearly 5% following reports that scooping up HBO Max wouldn’t necessarily result in a big market share boost.

Paramount, which has reportedly made five bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, doesn’t love the current state of play, either. The company sent WBD a letter questioning the “fairness and adequacy” of the process, highlighting reports that WBD’s board favors Netflix and is resisting Paramount.

Any offer would be subject to regulatory approval — a fact that may have weighed against Netflix’s offer given that cofounder Reed Hastings’ politics are vocally to the left, very much at odds with the current regulatory regime. Paramount seems confident in its ability to get approval, reportedly boosting its breakup fee to $5 billion should its potential acquisition fall apart in the regulatory process.

Paramount questions Warner Bros. Discovery on 'fairness and adequacy' of sale process: Read the full letter

Paramount questions Warner Bros. Discovery on 'fairness and adequacy' of sale process: Read the full letter

Investors don’t appear psyched by the streaming leader’s turn of fortune: the stock is down on Thursday morning, a day after closing down nearly 5% following reports that scooping up HBO Max wouldn’t necessarily result in a big market share boost.

Paramount, which has reportedly made five bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, doesn’t love the current state of play, either. The company sent WBD a letter questioning the “fairness and adequacy” of the process, highlighting reports that WBD’s board favors Netflix and is resisting Paramount.

Any offer would be subject to regulatory approval — a fact that may have weighed against Netflix’s offer given that cofounder Reed Hastings’ politics are vocally to the left, very much at odds with the current regulatory regime. Paramount seems confident in its ability to get approval, reportedly boosting its breakup fee to $5 billion should its potential acquisition fall apart in the regulatory process.

PEAK CONSULTING?

After three decades of pretty constant growth, the consultancy boom just hit an AI-shaped wall

Accenture has a new deal with OpenAI — did ChatGPT’s launch top-tick consulting employment?

Human hand and AI hand on the yellow background

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC.

©2025 Sherwood Media, LLC