If you’re wondering if you can charge your phone on a plane, the answer is usually yes – though it can depend on the airline. This is because some planes have power outlets and USB ports, whereas others don’t.
Even if an airline you are planning on flying with doesn’t offer in-flight power, not all is lost, as there are other ways to charge your phone when flying.
In any case, let’s take a look at which airlines offer in-flight power for you to charge your phone and which don’t.
Table of Contents
Charging Your Phone on a Plane – By Airline
- Alaska Airlines (Yes): Not only do Alaska Airlines provide a USB port for charging your phone, but they also provide a power outlet too. This applies to the majority of their flights.
- Allegiant Air (No): None of Allegiant’s planes are equipped with electrical outlets, so you will not be able to charge your phone on the plane.
- American Airlines (Yes): The majority of American Airlines’ planes will have a power outlet for you to charge your phone.
- Delta Airlines (Yes): Even though most airlines say that they have power outlets, you may be unfortunate enough to be flying on one of the airline’s planes that don’t have any, or perhaps in a seat that doesn’t feature one. Thankfully, Delta avoids this by ensuring that you can see which seats have a power outlet when booking your seat.
- Frontier Airlines (No): Frontier do not offer any power outlets on any of their flights.
- JetBlue (Yes): All of JetBlue’s Airbus A321 aircraft feature a power outlet for you to charge your phone. The airline’s A320 planes are currently in the process of being upgraded with new seats, new TVs, new lighting, as well as in-seat power outlets and USB ports.
- Southwest Airlines (No): Despite their popularity, Southwest are behind the times and do not offer any power outlets onboard.
- Spirit Airlines (No): Spirit is another airline that doesn’t offer any power outlets on their planes.
- United Airlines (Mostly): When flying with United, all international flights will have in-flight power, though the same can’t be said of all domestic flights. You can determine if your upcoming flight offers power outlets here.
How to Charge Your Phone Without An Outlet
Even if your upcoming flight does not have an outlet, you should still be able to charge your phone on the plane.
This is because portable chargers or power banks are allowed on a plane.
In fact, according to TSA guidelines, portable chargers or power banks must only be packed in your carry-on bags instead of your checked bags.
The Anker 325 Power Bank is very popular with travelers.
How to Make Your Phone Battery Last Longer on a Flight
Say you find yourself on a flight where there is no in-flight power, and you don’t have a power bank or portable charger with you.
The best thing to do in such a scenario is to do as many of the following:
- Keep your phone switched off as much as possible
- Lower the screen brightness
- Enable Power Saving Mode
- Enable Adaptive Battery Mode
- Disable Wi-Fi
- Stop apps from running in the background
- Use dark mode on your phone and apps
- Download content before you fly, particularly if you want to listen to Spotify on a plane
Related: Be Careful When Using Charging Ports At the Airport
Ella Dunham, a Freelance Travel Journalist and Marketing Manager, boasts an impressive career spanning eight years in the travel and tourism sectors.
Honored as one of "30 Under 30" by TTG Media (the world’s very first weekly travel trade newspaper), a "Tour Operator Travel Guru" and "Legend Award" winner, Ella is also a Fellow of the Institute of Travel, a Member of the Association of Women Travel Executives, has completed over 250 travel modules, and hosts travel-focused segments on national radio shows where she provides insights on travel regulations and destinations.
Ella has visited over 40 countries (with 10 more planned this year).