Hawaiian
Airlines is revolutionizing the inflight experience by launching free Wi-Fi
services powered by SpaceX’s Starlink this week, becoming the first major U.S.
carrier to offer the satellite-based system on board commercial flights.
“SpaceX has really
cracked the code—literally, in terms of the technology—to be able to deliver a
wide bandwidth of very high-quality connectivity to an airplane with a global
reach,” Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines’ CEO, told CNBC.
The move by
Hawaiian Airlines marks a significant advancement in the airline industry's
efforts to provide high-speed connectivity to passengers during flights. JetBlue
Airways currently offers free Wi-Fi on board, and Delta Air Lines introduced
complimentary internet access for its loyalty program members last year.
Hawaiian Airlines
boasts an extensive network of routes traversing the Pacific Ocean, connecting Hawaiian
and mainland U.S. cities with such overseas destinations as Japan,
Australia,
New
Zealand and others. The fresh implementation of Starlink-powered Wi-Fi will
enable passengers to enjoy seamless connectivity and enhanced in-flight
experiences.
“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, than what you can experience in your own
home,” said Chad Gibbs, SpaceX’s Vice President of Starlink Business Operations.
“We now have a
totally different paradigm, which is that we have incredible amounts of
capacity and bandwidth that we can bring to the plane,” he added.
Hawaiian, which
did not previously offer in-flight Wi-Fi at all, initially began collaborating with
SpaceX when it signed an agreement back in April 2022. The aim was to leverage
the Starlink network, which constitutes more than 5,000 satellites that sit in
low Earth orbit and presently provides internet service more than 2.3 million global
customers, to deliver reliable inflight Wi-Fi. .
Neither company
has disclosed the value of their deal, nor what it must have cost to install aviation-specific
Starlink terminals on board Hawaiian Airlines' its fleet of aircraft, but Ingram
did note that, “the costs of this have gone down from what the early Wi-Fi
systems were.”
He also emphasized
the potentially transformative impact of offering Starlink-powered Wi-Fi on
flights, stating, “We think it is really going to set an entirely new standard
for connectivity on airplanes.”
Hawaiian Airlines did
confirm that the deployment of Starlink terminals on its Airbus A321 aircraft
is already underway, with six installations completed so far. The airline plans
to equip a total of 18 A321 jets and 24 A330 aircraft with Starlink technology
throughout the year.
The two companies originally
intended to start installing the Starlink terminals aboard Hawaiian’s fleet in
2023, but SpaceX found that more time was needed to launch additional next-generation
Starlink satellites into orbit and achieve approval from the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) before work could begin.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
