In-Flight Wi-Fi Coming to Many More Hawaii Routes

From now on, it will be possible to stay connected to the Internet on flights to Hawaii on many more jets.

That’s thanks to Viasat’s third-generation F1 satellite, which went live for commercial use on Monday. One of the new satellite’s major improvements is that it provides long-awaited coverage on routes from the mainland to Hawaii.

From now on, all Viasat-equipped aircraft flying from the mainland to Hawaii will have access to satellite signal and Internet connectivity.

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Historically, passengers flying on planes equipped with Viasat antennas were unable to connect to the Internet after leaving the coverage area over the continental United States.

For some travelers, this has been reason enough to fly on planes equipped with global Internet providers, such as Panasonic. However, in the United States, Panasonic Internet service is largely limited to long-haul and wide-body jets flying for American Airlines and United Airlines.

While these airlines occasionally use twin-aisle jets on some high-profile routes to Hawaii, most routes from the continental United States to Hawaii are operated by single-aisle aircraft that do not have Panasonics.

In fact, American, Delta Air Lines, United, and Southwest Airlines all fly to Hawaii on planes equipped with Viasat antennas that previously did not work on those flights.

The new Viasat satellite was tested in the first half of the year and the provider was apparently satisfied enough with the results to activate the enhanced service.

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Although Viasat has long been talking about a third-generation satellite, last year’s ViaSat-3 launch encountered major technical problems while getting the satellites into orbit.

Viasat was initially unsure whether the new satellites would be recoverable, but the company said:

“Extensive in-orbit testing demonstrated that all other systems on the satellite performed at or above expectations. And while the antenna distribution anomaly resulted in a significant reduction in overall capacity, the resilience and high-performance specifications of the ViaSat-3 satellite system still enable the satellite to support high-speed broadband services for aviation customers in North America, where the satellite is deployed.”

At the bottom of this story, you will find a complete breakdown of flights from the mainland to Hawaii by Internet provider. Please note that aircraft changes can always occur and the data is based on Cirium schedules for flights scheduled for August 2024.

If connectivity is essential, check with your airline before flying to ensure your aircraft offers connectivity over Hawaii.

Going forward, United will be the only airline not to offer Wi-Fi on all routes to Hawaii, as some of its jets still have Thales satellites that only work on the continental United States.

Note that Hawaiian Airlines is installing free high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire fleet, which will work on all routes to the United States. These upgrades are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Internet Service Providers on Routes from the United States to Hawaii