ABOVE As we continue to roll out Starlink's high-speed internet service, all guests on our transpacific flights will soon have free access to the fastest connections available over the Pacific.
In our ultra-connected world, I sometimes find myself enjoying an occasional break from the constant stream of communication when aboard one of our flights: It’s a chance to get immersed in reading, talk story with our crew or just enjoy the view. Yet even for a leisure, destination airline like ours, I know how valuable in-flight internet can be, whether travelers want to wrap up a work project before arriving in Hawaii or share memorable moments from their vacation on their way home.
In my nearly two decades at Hawaiian, the question of when we would offer Wi-Fi connectivity onboard has been a constant—from both our guests and employees. While we have been eager to take this plunge, we wanted to wait until service became available with truly high-quality connectivity throughout the journey to or from Hawaii. Which is why we are excited to be bringing the world’s most advanced broadband satellite technology to our transpacific flights as the first major airline to offer Starlink.
As you read this column, Starlink’s high-speed internet is already available on select Airbus A321neo aircraft, the first in our fleet to be equipped with the system. We also plan to rollout the service on our Airbus A330s and Boeing 787-9s this year. Starlink’s internet will be free for every guest.
Getting online will be seamless, without registration pages or payment portals. Our guests will be able to surf the web, stream content, play games with friends on the ground, quickly download or upload large files, make vacation plans or post their special island experiences on social media.
It’s all possible thanks to Starlink’s global constellation of satellites connected by a laser mesh network, orbiting at an altitude of 340 miles—which is about 65 times closer to Earth than traditional satellite internet providers. For Hawaiian, this revolutionary technology solved a long-standing challenge: Ensuring our guests can enjoy reliable, high-speed, low-latency connectivity on our long flights over the ocean. How fast? Our expectation is that it is going to be the fastest internet flying over the Pacific.
While we continue to outfit our entire transpacific fleet you can look for the Starlink logo as you enter the cabin to find out whether your flight has Wi-Fi, or just ask one of our crew members. We know it took us a long time to bring connectivity to our cabins, but once you experience our fast, frictionless and free Wi-Fi, we hope you will agree it was worth the wait.
From our ohana to yours,
Peter Ingram, Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Airlines
