Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines now have Starlink Wi-Fi installed on nearly 150 aircraft across their combined fleet, putting the carriers ahead of schedule in their push toward free, fast connectivity onboard.
Alaska And Hawaiian Hit 150 Starlink Aircraft
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are moving quickly on Starlink. The carriers announced that “approximately 150” aircraft across the combined Alaska-Hawaiian fleet are now equipped with Starlink Wi-Fi, a milestone Alaska says puts it ahead of schedule in expanding connectivity across the network.
This includes 100% of Alaska’s regional fleet and the first 50 mainline aircraft equipped with Starlink. Hawaiian Airlines already offers complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi on aircraft flying to and from Hawaii, as well as on international routes, while Hawaiian’s neighbor island flights still do not have Wi-Fi onboard (there is no planned Wi-Fi installation on the Boeing 717 fleet).
Alaska says Starlink installation is now underway across its mainline fleet, including 737 aircraft, with the remaining mainline fleet expected to be completed by 2027. Alaska’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet is expected to be fully equipped this fall, including aircraft used for longhaul international flights from Seattle to Seoul, London, Rome, and Tokyo.
The airline has also launched a new online tracker so passengers can monitor installation progress by fleet type.
(142 is the exact number)
Free Wi-Fi Via Atmos Rewards
Everyone who has tried Starlink in the air knows that it is a game-changer: it is fast, low-latency, and works gate-to-gate. Alaska says passengers can use it for streaming, browsing, messaging, gaming, and even multi-device use, with expected speeds up to 500 Mbps. The “free” part comes with one condition: passengers will need to be Atmos Rewards members.
Beginning this month, Alaska and Hawaiian are rolling out a new onboard portal that will let passengers access complimentary Starlink by signing into Atmos Rewards, the combined loyalty program for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. The portal is expected to be available across Starlink-equipped flights by mid-July. New members will be able to sign up before or during travel in a few steps. Atmos Rewards is free to join, so this is not exactly a major burden.
But it is also not accidental…
Free internet is a very useful loyalty-program enrollment tool. If you want free Wi-Fi, Alaska wants your email address, loyalty number, which will be used to track what you viewed what your watch. That is hardly nefarious. Delta has taken a similar approach with SkyMiles. United is also moving toward free Starlink Wi-Fi tied to MileagePlus. Airlines have figured out that free Wi-Fi is not just a passenger amenity, but a powerful way to drive loyalty-program signups and direct engagement. Put another way, it pays for the faster internet.
Fair enough. I would rather create a free loyalty account than pay $8, $10, or $20 for Wi-Fi that may or may not work. If the tradeoff is joining Atmos Rewards in exchange for Starlink, I think just about everyone is going to take that deal.
Alaska and Hawaiian are not the only airlines moving toward free inflight connectivity, but the combined carrier has a great opportunity here. Hawaiian was early with Starlink and having an internet as fast as at home is such a value-add when crossing the Pacific. That matters even more for Alaska as it evolves from a primarily West Coast carrier into a more ambitious carrier, helping Alaska differentiate itself from carriers still relying on older connectivity systems.
Seat, food, service, and schedule certainly matter. But on a daytime flight, especially a domestic flight where I want to work, reliable Wi-Fi is at the top of the list for me.
CONCLUSION
Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines now have Starlink installed on 142 aircraft across the combined fleet, including all Alaska regional jets and the first 50 mainline aircraft.
A new onboard portal linked to Atmos Rewards is coming, underscoring that “free” Wi-Fi is also a loyalty-program enrollment strategy. But that is a fair trade in my book. Fast, reliable, gate-to-gate internet makes a material difference onboard. If Alaska and Hawaiian can deliver that consistently, this is one of the most passenger-friendly investments the combined carrier can make (even better than the delicious pork carnitas breakfast).
Smart move by Alaska. Their customers will become even more loyal.
If only the Atmos Rewards account to access free Wi‑Fi were guaranteed to be completely separate from mileage accrual…
Last year, on a British Airways flight, I signed up for BA Club solely to use free Wi‑Fi, but the miles from that flight were credited to my BA Club account instead of the AAdvantage account I wanted. I ended up spending more than six months arguing with countless agents just to have those wrongly credited miles transferred back to AAdvantage.
Because of that awful experience, I will never again sign up for a different frequent flyer program (FFP) just to access free Wi‑Fi when I already use another FFP for mileage accrual. I don’t want my miles to be locked into a program I never intended to use.
A good warning – thank you!
Good. Keep it going. All airlines should have reliable WiFi included on all aircraft. Sure, go for gold and have AVOD/IFE screens, too. It’s 2026, not 1996.
Kudos to Alaska Air Group!
For aviation enthusiasts → AS currently has 349 aircraft (average age: 9.4 years) in its fleet and HA has 71 aircraft (average age: 14.7 years) in its fleet.