Hawaiian Airlines will soon offer free in-flight Wi-Fi in a new partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink, the airline announced Monday.
The high-speed, low-latency broadband internet access will be provided to all passengers onboard transpacific flights on its Airbus A330 and A321neo aircraft, as well as the incoming fleet of Boeing 787-9s.
Hawaiian said in a release it is in the “initial stages of implementation” and plans to begin installing the service as early as next year. The airline does not plan to launch the service on interisland flights.
Hawaiian is the first major carrier to sign an agreement with Starlink for the service. The airline declined to disclose the financial details of the deal.
“When we launch with Starlink we will have the best connectivity experience available in the air,” stated Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram. “We waited until technology caught up with our high standards for guest experience, but it will be worth the wait.”
The service was created by Elon Musk’s SpaceX using advanced satellites in a low orbit to decrease transmission time. On its website, Starlink says that it “enables video calls, online gaming, streaming and other high data rate activities that historically have not been possible with satellite internet.”
With the new service, “Hawaiian Airlines is ensuring its passengers will experience high-speed internet the way we expect it in the 21st century, making hassles like downloading movies before takeoff a relic of the past,” said SpaceX Vice President of Starlink Commercial Sales Jonathan Hofeller in the statement.
