Alaska Airlines was, two years ago, expected to be the first airline to fly with Intelsat‘s (now SES‘s) multi-orbit ESA inflight internet solution. Then it wasn’t going to be first, but was still planning the install. Then it acquired Hawaiian Airlines and saw how the Starlink system worked on that fleet. And the ESA installs kept slipping.
Now, in a not entirely unexpected shift, the company’s combined fleet will fully shift to Starlink.
With Starlink already live on Hawaiian Airlines and installations starting this winter across Alaska’s fleet, we’re proud that we’ll offer the fastest, most reliable inflight internet in the skies – with gate-to-gate connectivity on nearly every aircraft across both airlines.
– Ben Minicucci, chief executive officer and president of Alaska Air Group
As with other Starlink deployments the service will be complimentary to passengers on board. It will require membership in the carrier’s newly refreshed Atmos loyalty program to log in. The free Wi-Fi will be sponsored by T-Mobile.
Deployment is expected to begin in 2026, with the full fleet converted by 2027. The Embraer fleet will be first, as the legacy Gogo ATG hardware on board is expected to no longer function from May 2026. Given the ability of other carriers to run accelerated deployments (Hawaiian, Qatar Airways, and United all produced aggressive results in their efforts) the limiting factor would appear to be getting ground time for the aircraft more than anything else. Alas, it seems getting that ground time scheduled will push the retrofits past the Gogo retirement window, leaving some planes dark for a few months.
The carrier also tips an expected annual savings of 800,000 gallons of fuel with the move. That comes from removal of the ThinKom ThinAir Ku3030 terminal (a/k/a 2Ku) and replacing it with the smaller Starlink ESAs. The real drag impact of the different terminals has been a long-running topic in the industry.
The news is, of course, a setback for SES/Intelsat. Losing a couple hundred installed tails is a big hit. And it continues a trend of large deals going to Starlink, while most other recent deals from other providers are smaller.
SpaceX has claimed 3,000+ aircraft committed to its fleet. Not all of those are known yet, though about 1,900 can be easily accounted for (United, Qatar, Air France, WestJet, and airBaltic, JSX, plus the combined Alaska/Hawaiian fleet).
And there is still plenty of room for growth, both in already connected and yet-to-be-connected aircraft.
Ed. – Updated 21 Aug 10a EDT with notes on some planes being dark during the conversion.
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