Hawaiian Airlines has introduced its new free in-flight Wi-Fi service from SpaceX’s Starlink.
It is the first major US airline to roll it out.
Hawaiian inked an agreement with Starlink in 2022, looking to leverage its network of 5,000-plus low orbit satellites.
It is the first in-flight Wi-Fi service the airline has offered.
“SpaceX has really cracked the code, in terms of the technology, to be able to deliver a wide bandwidth of very high quality connectivity with a global reach,” said Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines CEO.
Good connectivity is key for customers as much of its flight network involves flying for a long stretch over the Pacific Ocean where normal service can be patchy.
“It really feels like an experience that should not be possible when you get on a commercial airline flight. And you’re able to connect to the internet and experience it in a way that’s similar, if not better,” said Chad Gibbs, VP of Starlink business operations.
“We now have a totally different paradigm, which is that we have incredible amounts of capacity and bandwidth.”
It is installed on six Airbus A321 planes so far and plans to complete rollout on another 42 planes this year.
So far, Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi has been used on over 30,000 flights, the company says.
