A friend is away to Isreal and I'd like to know, can he receive text while in flight?

If he gets wifi onboard, yes. Depending on the airline and if he buys (or gets with his frequent flyer status) such a service.

Most airlines have wifi onboard. United, which I am most always flying, has free text messaging. You just have to activate it. Some carriers give you free wifi if you have T-Mobile. Bottom line, it's possible to send and receive texts, but the passenger has to set it up and/or pay for it.

OK. I guess I might not hear back. I will message him when he is there. It's 6,300 miles away. See if my new SpaceX phone has the power..

most in flight wifi is an Air-to-ground (ATG) system. Plane to satellite for passenger wifi isn't so common, yet.

So it may work if he happens to be over or near land, depending on the system. If he's over the ocean, then maybe not.

We always fly United, and over ocean WiFi service depends on United's provider:

https://www.united.com/ual/en/...i-coverage-maps.html

I alway fly Delta and they have free messaging via wifi. However, SMS text doesn't work from Android, so I use Whatsapp.

JP

United, American and Delta offer free messaging if the passenger signs into the Wi-Fi. Apple, WhatsApp and a couple others texting systems

Basic messaging, no emojis or pictures typically

Sky miles members get free Wi-Fi and messaging on the flight I’m on this morning.

My friends who have iPhones can if they have wifi on the plane. Not sure about Android.

Amazing life. He landed around 3:50 this morning. That was fast.