Hawaiian Airlines is the first major airline to announce plans to offer Starlink WiFi to passengers.
In a press release on Monday the airline said the high-speed, low-latency broadband internet access will be offered to all passengers free of charge starting next year.
Starlink antenna will be added to their Airbus A330 and A321neo aircraft, as well as an incoming fleet of Boeing 787-9s for flights between the islands and the continental U.S, Asia and Oceania.
The service will not be offered on Boeing 717 flights between the Hawaiian Islands.
“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. “With Starlink, the inflight experience is greatly simplified so that once passengers step onboard the plane the internet works seamlessly throughout their flight. Soon, passengers will enjoy all the benefits of having the world’s best inflight internet connectivity from the comfort of their seats.”
Hawaiian Airlines says they are currently in the early stages of implementation, but expect to begin installing the required equipment next year.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is the second deal in less than one week between SpaceX and an air carrier. Last week JSX also announced plans to offer complimentary Starlink WiFi on their flights in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Texas and New York.
Unlike Hawaiian Airlines, passengers onboard JSX flights will be able to use Starlink later this year.
