During their Q4 2023 earnings call, Hawaiian Air officials mentioned that they’ve begun offering Starlink satellite-based WiFi onboard certain flights. Well, it turns out there’s more information out there about the Hawaiian Starlink deployment.
I gotta say, I don’t know what’s going on over there, but Hawaiian isn’t doing so good with communicating nowadays, even when it’s positive news. For example, it took them over a week to publicly acknowledge the arrival of their first Boeing 787-9. I guess they wanted to wait until their official blessing ceremony to do so, but this is 2024. All the AvGeeks, and, thus, all the travel/aviation-related media outlets, knew about the aircraft’s delivery before it landed in Honolulu. Hell, plane spotters were waiting for her arrival that night!
Sure, a new aircraft arrival is kind of niche, but Hawaiian hasn’t communicated details of its new in-flight WiFi service all that great, either. There was the initial hype when they signed with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service, but once they started offering it on revenue flights? Just a notation in an earnings call? Really? Or, so I thought. It turns out they have a whole blog post dedicated to the Hawaiian Starlink deployment. Problem is, their blog is buried on their website and not well publicized.
Hawaiian Starlink Deployment
So, what we knew about the Hawaiian Starlink thus far is that they were trialing the service on an A321neo. It turns out that the specific A321neo is N228HA, named Ulu. The first flight operated by N228HA with Starlink active was HA69 from Long Beach, California, to Honolulu, back on February 8.
Hawaiian indicates that Starlink will be activated on a random selection of A321neos in the coming months and plans to have the entire fleet of 18 offering the service by Spring.
How do you tell whether or not your flight features Starlink WiFi? Well, aside from tracking N228HA to see if it’ll be operating your flight, your only other option is to look for this decal as you board the aircraft.
You could also look for the antenna dome atop the aircraft, but the Starlink domes are surprisingly svelte.
Compare that to the antenna dome on this Virgin America/Alaska Air A320, which is similar in size to an A321neo. That’s an enormous difference!
Hawaiian states that Starlink will be available the moment you step onboard, which is quite different from other WiFi services. Further, access will be free and, according to the carrier, will be easier since passengers won’t have to deal with “…tedious registration pages and clunky payment portals.”
Oh, and I do believe Hawaiian’s claim on the A321neo installation schedule. You can see the antenna domes on the broken buses stored at HNL.
A330 Deployment
At the moment, the Hawaiian Starlink deployment is limited to just its A321neo. Hawaiian is not only the first U.S. airline to utilize Starlink internet on its aircraft, but it also had to work directly with the FAA to get the equipment certified on this type. So now, any U.S. airline can utilize Starlink on their A321neos. The same holds true for the A330. No one else uses it yet, so Hawaiian must work with the FAA on certification.
As a result, Hawaiian anticipates having Starlink installed across its A330 fleet by the end of 2024. That said, I wonder if all A330 truly will receive Starlink, as they are scheduled to begin exiting the fleet in the near future.
787 Deployment
Unfortunately, there’s no timeline given for the 787 portion of the Hawaiian Starlink deployment plan. That’s a bit counter-intuitive, as this is a brand-new aircraft and will also serve as the flagship for the airline. However, it would seem that Hawaiian must obtain FAA certification for Starlink on the 787, and being that they just got their first bird, they didn’t have the opportunity to do so until now. Logically, it would’ve been great to do so while the jet was in storage, but Boeing still owned N780HA, and still does today.
As such, I think it might be at least a year or two before we see Starlink on 787s. After all, the fleet is going to be tiny. I think they’re only getting three or four of them this year, so they won’t have spare to take out of service, especially not with the A330s filling in for their broken fleet of PW1100-powered A321neos.
Hawaiian Starlink Deployment, Final Thoughts
You’ll notice one type is missing from the Hawaiian Starlink deployment plan – the workhorse Boeing 717 fleet. I’m sure Hawaiian thinks it isn’t worth it since the average stage length these birds operate at is 30 minutes. Plus, the venerable 717 is reaching the end of its useful life, so why go through the hassle of certification?
I will say, though, that whatever jet they plan on replacing the 717 with should get Starlink service. Sure, the flights they’ll operate are really short, but satellite-based WiFi onboard Southwest’s flights has been invaluable for me in coordinating rides from the airport while we’re still in the air. Can I do without it? Of course! But the convenience is awesome.