Alaska Airlines Will Finally Add Speedy Wi-Fi on All of Its Big Jets


alaska airlines

Skift Take

We know it takes a long time to retrofit airplanes. And we know airlines hate to remove planes from service. But we wish Alaska could work faster to add speedy Wi-Fi. Three years is a long time to wait.
Fast Wi-Fi is finally coming to all Alaska Airlines and Virgin America planes, though passengers will have to wait almost three years before they'll be guaranteed they can stream content from services like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Go at 30,000 feet. Alaska said Tuesday it will install Gogo's 2KU satellite-based service on its Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with installations set to begin early next year. The airline said its Boeing 737s —they're operated by the Alaska side of the company — will start getting it first, with about 40-50 aircraft outfitted by the end of 2018. It promised satellite Wi-Fi will be on all of its large jets, including Virgin America's A319s, A320s and A321s, by "early" 2020. Smaller re