Which Airlines Have Power Outlets & USB Ports? [2022]

Are you wanting to bring your laptop or other electronics on a plane but not sure if they will have power outlets or USB ports to help you remain charged?

In this article, we will take a thorough look at all of the major US airlines and see which ones offer power outlets and USB ports.

You’ll get to see exactly which type of aircraft you can expect to find these on and also get some insight into what type of power you can expect to receive while flying.

How to know if your aircraft has power outlets & USB ports

It’s quite easy to find out if your aircraft has power outlets and USB ports.

First, you can quickly check the tables below which provide an overview on which airlines offer them.

But before you take flight you will want to check if your specific flight has power outlets and USB ports. An easy way to do this is to check Google Flights.

Simply look up your exact flight and then click on the details to see if you find an icon for power outlets and USB ports. It will look like the image below.

On the airline’s website you should also be able to see if the flight has power outlets or USB ports. In the sections below, we will show you what those icons look like for the different major US airlines.

Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!

Overview of power outlets and USB ports on planes

Below are a few things to know about power outlets and USB ports on planes that will help you have the right expectations as you fly.

Cabins with outlets

Most first class and business class cabins will have power outlets and/or USBs for each seat. It’s not always a guarantee but as you can see below, the vast majority of major US carriers provide them in premium cabins.

As for economy, it is much less common for economy passengers to have their own power outlets and USB ports. If there are power outlets, you may have to share them with other passengers.

Also, sometimes the power outlets are only found in the first few rows of economy (in something like economy plus).

power outlets in first class

Location

Exactly where you will find your power outlet and USB port is going to be different on each aircraft.

Sometimes you can find them close together on the seat back but other times they may be located between the seats. This is especially true if you are seated in economy and sharing an outlet with another seat.

If you’re flying first or business class sometimes you have to go on the hunt for them somewhere in the side of your seat, underneath your seat, or even inside of a storage compartment. Truly premium cabins often have multiple power outlets or USB ports for each passenger.

power outlets in first class

Aircraft

The type of aircraft you’re flying on will dictate if the airline provides a power outlet and USB port.

Generally, the newer or refurbished aircraft are going to provide power outlets and USB ports and they may do so for every individual seat. Aircraft used on long-haul flights also tend to be more equipped when it comes to electronics.

As pointed out below, aircraft can come in several different versions and so sometimes if you are not on an updated version of that aircraft you might miss out on power outlets.

Smaller aircraft like Bombardier CRJ-700 and Embraer ERJ-140 sometimes have outlets in premium cabins but often they do not.

Airlines

You can often set your outlet expectations based on the type of airline you are flying.

Ultra low cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier will not have power outlets and USB ports. Southwest flights will not have them although they are starting to add USB ports.

But when it comes to most major US airlines that are not budget oriented, you’ll find outlets/USBs on lots of aircraft, especially in premium cabins.

Broken outlets

It’s not uncommon for outlets to be malfunctioning on aircraft.

When this happens, you might be able to get some form of compensation depending on the duration of the flight, your class, etc.

But the biggest thing to keep in mind when flying is that if you plan on being dependent on power to get something done, it may not be guaranteed.

Universal outlets

Many of the 110V power outlets in aircraft are universal so you do not need an adapter.

However, this is not always the case.

Unfortunately, many customer service representatives struggle to provide details on adapters that may be needed so it is best to always prepared if you suspect you might need one.

What can the power outlets handle?

The maximum wattage that an outlet can handle in an airplane is going to differ for each airline/aircraft.

But typically, you can expect the outlet to handle about 75W.

Sometimes, an entire row might be allocated more such as the case with Alaska Airlines which provides a max of 250 watts in each row.

If your laptop has an adapter indicating a higher wattage, you may still be able to use it.

For example, we confirmed with Apple that adapters can “downgrade” to lower wattage in order to be compatible with these type of outlets. For example, according to Apple, a 96W Macbook Pro adapter should be able to work on an outlet that handles 75W.

Keep in mind that the wattage available to you could also depend on how much power is being used by your neighbors in the cabin.

If you overdo it with the power outlet you could trip it. You’ll know that that has happened if all of a sudden you are not receiving any power from the outlet.

When this happens, sometimes you can ask the flight attendant and they can reset it for you.

Just keep in mind that tripping the power outlet could disable the electronic features on your seat which could be a big deal for business class and first class passengers.

Also, sometimes your laptop might be receiving less power than it is using. So plugging in your computer may only slow down your battery getting drained.

Here are some things that you can do to make it easier to work with your laptop on a plane:

Remove the battery

If you can remove your laptop’s battery, the laptop won’t be able to draw power to charge a battery.

You have to be careful with this though because sometimes laptops rely on battery power for short moments and this could cause you to lose your work if your laptop unexpectedly loses power.

Turn off certain features

You can greatly reduce your power by turning down the brightness, closing out of apps, reducing the amount of open browser tabs. You may also be able to adjust the power options which could help significantly.

Find more tips on reducing the power usage of your laptop here and here.

USB ports and your privacy

Using public USB ports such as those found in hotels can sometimes be risky. There is something called “juice jacking” which is where a hacker could get access to your private data when you plug in your device to a USB port.

I honestly would not worry as much about USB ports on the plane as those seem exponentially more difficult for a hacker to successfully utilize.

I’m sure it’s still possible but given the difficulties involved with obtaining the data, I would wager this would be extremely uncommon/nonexistent.

If you are still worried about juice jacking up in the sky you can still use a USB data blocker.

Breakdown of major US airlines with outlets

Below is a breakdown of the major US airlines. You’ll see whether or not eat your aircraft has power outlets and USB ports.

In some cases, you may encounter multiple versions of an aircraft and we have indicated that with V1, V2, etc. An “*” indicates that some seats on the aircraft may not have outlets or USB ports.

All information was verified with seatguru.com, Google Flights, and the airline’s website, and should be accurate as of June 2022.

Some airlines are constantly refurbishing aircraft and so they may be adding power outlets and USB ports. If you spot any information that should be updated, feel free to contact us!

Alaska Airlines

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Airbus A319 V1Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A320 V1Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A321Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 737-700Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 737-800Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 737-900Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 737-900ERYes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 737-9 MAXYes, every seatYes, every seat
Bombardier Q400NoNo
Embraer 175Individual outlets in F/JIndividual usb in F/J

American Airlines

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Airbus A319Yes, every seatContact Airline
Airbus A320NoNo
Airbus A321 V1NoNo
Airbus A321 V2Yes*Yes*
Airbus A321neoYes, every seatYes*
Airbus A330-200Yes, every seatContact Airline
Boeing 737 Max 8Yes*Yes*
Boeing 737-800 V1Individual outlets in F/J and Main Cabin Extra; Shared in YYes*
Boeing 737-800 V2Yes, every seatYes*
Boeing 777-200Yes*Yes*
Boeing 777-300ERYes*Yes*
Boeing 787-8Yes*Yes*
Boeing 787-9Yes, every seatYes*
Bombardier CRJ-700 V1NoNo
Bombardier CRJ-700 V2Yes, every seatNo
Bombardier CRJ-900NoNo
Embraer ERJ-140NoNo
Embraer ERJ-145NoNo
Embraer ERJ-170NoNo
Embraer ERJ-175NoNo
USB outlet in seatback on American Airlines first class.

Delta

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Airbus A220-100Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A220-300Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A319Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A320Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A321Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A321neoYes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A330-200Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus and some select YYes, every seat
Airbus A330-300Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus and some select YYes, every seat
Airbus A330-900neoYes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A350-900Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 717-200Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 737-700Individual outlets in F/J; None in YNo
Boeing 737-800Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus and some select YYes, every seat
Boeing 737-900ERYes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 757-200 V1NoNo
Boeing 757-200 V2Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 757-300Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 767-300ER V1Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus and some select YYes, every seat
Boeing 767-300ER V2Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus and some select YNo
Boeing 767-400ER V1Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus and some select YYes, every seat
Boeing 767-400ER V2Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus and some select YYes, every seat
Boeing 777-200ER/LRIndividual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort PlusYes, every seat
Bombardier CRJ-100/200NoNo
Bombardier CRJ-700Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus; None in YIndividual usb in F/J and Comfort Plus; None in Y
Bombardier CRJ-900NoNo
Bombardier CRJ-900 Atmosphere CabinIndividual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus and in YIndividual usb in F/J; Shared usb in Delta Comfort Plus and in Y
Embraer E-170Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Delta Comfort Plus; None in YIndividual usb in F/J and Comfort Plus; None in Y
Embraer E-175 V1Yes*Yes*
McDonnell Douglas MD-88Individual outlets in F/JContact Airline
McDonnell Douglas MD-90Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in some select Delta Comfort PlusIndividual usb in F/J; Shared usb in some select Delta Comfort Plus
USB outlet in seatback TV on Delta first class.

Frontier

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Airbus A319 L2NoNo
Airbus A320 L2NoNo
Airbus A321NoNo

Hawaiian Airlines

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Aerospatiale ATR-42NoNo
Airbus A321neoIndividual outlets in F/JYes, every seat
Airbus A330-200Individual outlets in F/JYes, every seat
Boeing 717-200NoNo
USB port on Hawaiian Airlines first class.

JetBlue

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Airbus A320 V1NoNo
Airbus A320 V2Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A321 V1Individual outlets in Even More Space; Shared in CoreYes, every seat
Airbus A321 V2Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Airbus A321neoIndividual outlets in Even More Space; Shared in CoreYes, every seat
Embraer E-190NoNo

Southwest Airlines

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Boeing 737 MAX 8NoNo
Boeing 737-700NoNo
Boeing 737-800NoNo

Spirit

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Airbus A319-100NoNo
Airbus A320-200NoNo
Airbus A320neoNoNo
Airbus A321-200NoNo

United

AircraftPower OutletUSB
Airbus A319 V1Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus; None in YNo
Airbus A320Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus; None in YNo
Boeing 737 Max 8Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YNo
Boeing 737 Max 9Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YNo
Boeing 737-700 Domestic V1Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and some select YNo
Boeing 737-700 Domestic V2Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and some select YNo
Boeing 737-700 MicronesiaNoNo
Boeing 737-800 V1Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and some select YNo
Boeing 737-800 V2Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus; None in YNo
Boeing 737-900Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YNo
Boeing 757-200 V1Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YIndividual usb in F/J
Boeing 757-200 V2Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YContact Airline
Boeing 757-200 V3Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YYes, every seat
Boeing 757-300Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YYes, every seat
Boeing 767-300ER V1Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YIndividual usb in F/J
Boeing 767-300ER V2Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YYes, every seat
Boeing 767-300ER V3Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 767-400ERYes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 777-200 V1Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YContact Airline
Boeing 777-200 V2Yes, every seatYes, every seat
Boeing 777-300ERIndividual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YYes, every seat
Boeing 787-10Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YYes, every seat
Boeing 787-8Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YYes, every seat
Boeing 787-9 V2Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YYes, every seat
Bombardier CRJ-200NoNo
Bombardier CRJ-550NoNo
Bombardier CRJ-700NoNo
Bombardier Q200NoNo
Bombardier Q300NoNo
Bombardier Q400 V2NoNo
Embraer EMB 170NoNo
Embraer EMB 175Individual outlets in F/J; Shared outlets in Economy Plus and YNo
Embraer EMB-120 V2NoNo
Embraer ERJ-135NoNo
Embraer ERJ-145NoNo
Embraer ERJ-175Individual outlets in F/JContact Airline
Saab 340BNoNo

Final word

Power outlets and USB ports are still not a guarantee on every aircraft. To make sure that you will have outlets it is best to check the details of your specific flight because there can be different versions of the same aircraft.

If you are flying first class or business you stand a good chance of having them but it is less common to have your own individual outlets in economy.

Finally, be prepared for outlets to be malfunctioning sometimes as you cannot always count on them to work.

3 comments

  1. Hi,
    Thanks for the very useful and informative article. I’m wondering about the airline seat power capacity for electronics other than computers. I’ve started using a vibrating massage type seat cushion on the longer flights I take. It’s 12 W, 0.5A. Is their any cause for concern using it?

    Many thanks

  2. The expression F/j is used 47 times but not defoined anywhere. What the hell is F/j for th elocation of a electric outlet?

  3. The letters “F” and “J” in the context of airline seating categories stand for “First Class” (F) and “Business Class” (J), respectively. These abbreviations are part of the IATA (International Air Transport Association) codes used to standardize and simplify the classifications of travel classes across the airline industry. “F” has been traditionally used to denote First Class, the highest level of service offered by airlines. “J” is commonly used for Business Class due to historical reasons; when the codes were established, “B” was already in use for a full-fare economy ticket, necessitating the use of another letter for the newly introduced Business Class. Thus, “J” was chosen to represent this category, which provides premium services and amenities, though not as luxurious as First Class.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *