Viasat supplies in-flight connectivity to customers through its fleet of about a half-dozen high-orbit satellites, which mostly cover the Americas but have some capacity elsewhere. Hawaiian and Starlink are in the initial stages of implementation and expect to begin installing antennas on select aircraft next year. Last month, Hawaiian Airlines became the first to announce a deal with Starlink to provide complimentary internet access to passengers on flights between the islands and the continental U.S. Elon Musk's SpaceX, through its low-earth orbit constellation of 1,800 Starlink satellites, has made no secret that it is courting airlines. The inflight connectivity market is already competitive, but it looks to get even more so soon. Southwest Airlines also has options to potentially buy another 279 Boeing MAX aircraft. In addition, it has firm orders for 149 Boeing Max 8 planes, with delivery expected through 2031. In a regulatory filing last year, Southwest Airlines said it had firm orders for 200 Boeing Max 7 planes. Viasat declined to say how many aircraft are involved. Southwest Airlines is upgrading the existing fleet with the latest generation Anuvu equipment to improve speed and bandwidth up to 10 times current levels. But it doesn't include retrofitting Southwest's existing fleet, which is served by Anuvu, formerly Global Eagle. The new Southwest Airlines deal calls for antennas and equipment to enable Viasat's satellite internet to be installed at the factory for new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. It has about 1,800 aircraft currently flying with its service. The Carlsbad company already supplies in-flight connectivity on domestic and some international flights, with customers including Delta, United, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, American and Aero Mexico. Southwest Airlines has picked satellite internet provider Viasat to supply in-flight Wi-Fi service for all new aircraft deliveries starting in the fall.
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