Alaska Airlines has finished equipping every aircraft in its regional fleet with SpaceX's Starlink WiFi — a milestone that brings satellite-powered, high-speed internet to the shorter routes that have historically had the worst in-flight connectivity. Combined with its sister brand Hawaiian Airlines, the Alaska Air Group now has roughly 150 aircraft online with Starlink, and the full 400+ plane fleet is on track to be covered by the end of 2027.
The regional fleet in question is made up of Embraer 175 jets operated by Horizon Air, and these routes — think Seattle to Boise or San Francisco to Reno — were precisely the flights where passengers had come to expect spotty or nonexistent Wi-Fi. That gap is now closed. According to Alaska Airlines, the Starlink service delivers speeds up to 500 Mbps with significantly lower latency than traditional in-flight systems, meaning video calls, streaming, and cloud work are all genuinely usable at altitude.
Access isn't paywalled for loyalty members. Starlink Wi-Fi is free for Alaska's Mileage Plan — now rebranded as Atmos Rewards — members, with an online enrollment portal launching in July 2026 to make sign-up easier mid-trip. Eligible T-Mobile customers also get complimentary access. For everyone else, paid tiers are available. On the Hawaiian side, the carrier — which became the first major U.S. airline to debut Starlink back in February — has completed installations across its Airbus A330 and A321neo fleet, though its Boeing 717s will not receive the upgrade.
Alaska Air Group is now ahead of its originally announced rollout schedule. The next milestone to watch: the carrier expects its entire widebody mainline fleet to be Starlink-equipped by fall 2026, well before the 2027 fleet-wide deadline. For SpaceX, this deployment adds to a growing list of airline partners and cements Starlink Aviation as the dominant force in a market where legacy in-flight Wi-Fi providers have long underdelivered. For our SpaceX coverage, this is one of the cleaner proof points yet that the satellite constellation is moving well beyond its original consumer and maritime use cases.
Sarah focuses on Tesla Energy, SpaceX missions, and the broader Musk AI portfolio. Former data analyst in clean energy. Based in San Francisco.
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