Inflight Wi-Fi is coming to many of Hawaii’s routes

Staying connected on flights to Hawaii will now be possible on most jets.

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

Moving forward, any Viasat-equipped aircraft flying from the mainland to Hawaii will now have access to a satellite signal and Internet connection.

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Historically, passengers flying on flights with Viasat antennas have not been able to connect to the Internet after leaving the coverage area above the continental US.

For some travelers, that’s reason enough to fly on planes equipped with global Internet providers, such as Panasonic. However, in the US, Panasonic’s Internet service is largely limited to long-haul, wide-body jets that fly on American Airlines and United Airlines.

While these carriers sometimes operate two-cabin jets on select Hawaii-profile routes, most interstate routes from the US to Hawaii are operated by single-aisle aircraft that do not include Panasonic.

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

Viasat’s new satellite was tested during the first half of the year, and the provider seemed happy enough with the results to make the improved service operational.

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Although Viasat has been talking about a third-generation satellite for some time, the launch of ViaSat-3 last year faced major technical problems as the satellites were launched into orbit.

Viasat wasn’t sure at first that the new satellites could deliver, but the company said:

“Extensive in-orbit testing showed that all other satellite systems were performing as expected or above expectations. And while the antenna deployment resulted in a significant reduction in overall capacity, the robustness and high performance specifications of the ViaSat-3 satellite system still allow the satellite to supported high-speed broadband services to aviation customers in North America, where satellite is used.”

Below this article, you will find a complete breakdown of flights from the mainland to Hawaii by internet provider. Note that flight changes can always occur, and the data is based on Cirium’s plans for flights scheduled for August 2024.

If a connection is necessary, check with your airline before your flight to make sure your flight includes a connection in Hawaii.

Going forward, United will be the only carrier that does not offer Wi-Fi on all routes to Hawaii, as some of its jets are still equipped with Thales satellites that only serve the continental US.

Note that Hawaiian Airlines is in the process of installing free high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet, which will work on all routes to the US This refund is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Internet providers on US routes to Hawaii