Inflight Wi-Fi is coming to many more Hawaii routes


Staying connected to the internet on flights to Hawaii will now be possible on many more jets.

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

Going forward, any Viasat-equipped plane 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 planes with Viasat antennas could not connect to the internet after leaving the coverage area above the continental U.S.

Viasat’s previous coverage map. UNITED

For some travelers, that’s been reason enough to travel on planes equipped with internet providers with global coverage, such as Panasonic. However, in the U.S., Panasonic internet service is largely limited to long-haul, wide-body jets flying for American Airlines and United Airlines.

While these carriers do sometimes deploy twin-aisle jets on select high-profile Hawaii routes, the majority of the mainland U.S.-to-Hawaii routes are operated by single-aisle planes that don’t feature Panasonic.

In fact, American, Delta Air Lines, United and Southwest Airlines all fly jets to Hawaii equipped with Viasat antennas that previously didn’t work on those particular flights.

The new Viasat satellite was tested over the first half of the year, and the provider was seemingly happy enough with the results to activate the enhanced service.

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While Viasat has been talking about the third-generation satellite for quite some time, last year’s ViaSat-3 launch ran into major technical issues as the satellites were launched into orbit.

Viasat wasn’t initially sure whether the new satellites would be salvageable, but the company said:

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

At the bottom of this story, you’ll find a complete breakdown of mainland-to-Hawaii flights by internet provider. Note that aircraft substitutions can always occur, and the data is based on Cirium schedules for flights scheduled for August 2024.

If connectivity is a must, check with your airline before your flight to ensure that your plane features connectivity over Hawaii.

Going forward, United will be the only carrier that doesn’t offer Wi-Fi on all Hawaii routes, as some of its jets still feature Thales satellites that only work over the continental U.S.

Note that Hawaiian Airlines is in the process of installing free high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi across its fleet, which will work on all routes to the U.S. These retrofits are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Internet providers on US-to-Hawaii routes

Airline Origin Destination Wi-Fi provider Works on Hawaii routes?
Alaska Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska LAX Kahului Airport (OGG) Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska Portland International Airport (PDX) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska PDX OGG Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska PDX Kona International Airport (KOA) Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska San Diego International Airport (SAN) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SAN OGG Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SAN KOA Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SAN Lihue Airport (LIH) Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska San Francisco International Airport (SFO) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SFO OGG Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SJC OGG Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SJC KOA Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SJC LIH Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SEA OGG Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SEA KOA Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
Alaska SEA LIH Wi-Fi Onboard Yes
American Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) HNL Panasonic/Viasat Yes
American DFW HNL Panasonic/Viasat Yes
American DFW OGG Panasonic/Viasat Yes
American LAX HNL Viasat Yes
American LAX OGG Viasat Yes
American LAX KOA Viasat Yes
American LAX LIH Viasat Yes
American Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) HNL Viasat Yes
American PHX OGG Viasat Yes
American PHX KOA Viasat Yes
American PHX LIH Viasat Yes
Delta Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard/Viasat Yes
Delta Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard/Viasat Yes
Delta LAX HNL Wi-Fi Onboard/Viasat Yes
Delta LAX OGG Viasat Yes
Delta LAX KOA Viasat Yes
Delta LAX LIH Viasat Yes
Delta Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard/Viasat Yes
Delta John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard/Viasat Yes
Delta Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) HNL Wi-Fi Onboard/Viasat Yes
Delta SEA HNL Viasat Yes
Delta SEA OGG Viasat Yes
Delta SEA KOA Viasat Yes
Delta SEA LIH Viasat Yes
Hawaiian Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) HNL None yet No
Hawaiian Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) HNL None yet No
Hawaiian Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) HNL None yet No
Hawaiian LAS OGG None yet No
Hawaiian Long Beach Airport (LGB) HNL Starlink Yes
Hawaiian LGB OGG Starlink Yes
Hawaiian LAX HNL None yet No
Hawaiian LAX OGG None yet No
Hawaiian LAX KOA None yet No
Hawaiian LAX LIH Starlink Yes
Hawaiian JFK HNL None yet No
Hawaiian San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK) HNL Some Starlink Some
Hawaiian OAK OGG Starlink Yes
Hawaiian OAK LIH Starlink Yes
Hawaiian Ontario International Airport (ONT) HNL Starlink Yes
Hawaiian PHX HNL None yet No
Hawaiian PDX HNL None yet No
Hawaiian PDX OGG Starlink Yes
Hawaiian Sacramento International Airport (SMF) HNL Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SMF OGG Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SMF KOA Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SMF LIH Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SLC HNL Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SAN HNL None yet No
Hawaiian SAN OGG Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SFO HNL None yet No
Hawaiian SFO OGG Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SJC HNL Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SJC OGG Starlink Yes
Hawaiian SEA HNL None yet No
Hawaiian SEA OGG Starlink Yes
Southwest LAS HNL Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest LAS OGG Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest LAS KOA Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest LAS LIH Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest LGB HNL Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest LGB OGG Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest LAX HNL Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest LAX KOA Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest LAX LIH Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest OAK HNL Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest OAK OGG Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest OAK KOA Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest OAK LIH Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest PHX HNL Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest PHX OGG Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest SMF HNL Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest SMF OGG Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest SAN HNL Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest SJC HNL Anuvu/Viasat Yes
Southwest SJC OGG Anuvu/Viasat Yes
United O’Hare International Airport (ORD) HNL Panasonic Yes
United ORD OGG Panasonic Yes
United Denver International Airport (DEN) HNL Panasonic Yes
United DEN OGG Panasonic Yes
United DEN KOA Panasonic Yes
United DEN LIH Panasonic Yes
United George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) HNL Panasonic Yes
United LAX HNL Panasonic/Thales Some
United LAX HNL Panasonic Yes
United LAX HNL Viasat Yes
United LAX OGG Viasat Yes
United LAX KOA Thales/Viasat Some
United LAX LIH Viasat Yes
United SFO HNL Panasonic/Thales/Viasat Some
United SFO OGG Panasonic/Viasat Yes
United SFO KOA Thales/Viasat Some
United SFO LIH Thales/Viasat Some
United Dulles International Airport (IAD) HNL Panasonic Yes



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