jrod1096

Hi everyone, I’m flying LAX-HNL next week on an A321neo. I believe these aircraft are equipped with the new ViaSat satellite Wi-Fi rather than the old Gogo air-to-ground.

Can someone who has flown LAX/PHX to Hawaii on this fleet confirm whether the Wi-Fi works over the open water?

Thanks!

metallo

Recently did LAX-LIH on an A321neo, and the Viasat Wi-Fi only worked as we were flying up the California coast. Probably 5-10 minutes after turning west, the connection was lost. AA notably does not try to sell Wi-Fi packages in this situation.

fly747first

That closely mirrors my experience as well so the OP should try to wrap up any important work before boarding the flight

PHL

ViaSat is satellite based, but still only has CONUS coverage. Panasonic WiFi is the type that covers the long haul international over water flights.

Basically, you'll only get the wider International WiFI coverage on a 777 or 787.

mvoight

You will lose WIFI after you fly a bit from the CA coast. The good news is that it is free for the little time you have it

UAPremierGuy

What a joke. This is the fleet type that AA decided to use for its West Coast-Hawaii flights and it couldn't even have the foresight to install a wi-fi service that would actually work on said flights. At least the old pmAA A321's had PTV's with a good, functional and intuitive system and good selection of IFE...not these birds. Sure hope the personal device entertainment actually works, the device is charged, and/or the power outlets actually work...none of which you can count on AA for...

PHL

I see you're handle reflects that you're a UA regular. Do their narrowbodies that fly long overwater flights have WiFi that works beyond the coast? The AA personal BYOD IFE is sufficient and 99% of the time works, which is better than most onboard IFE systems.

enviroian

I don't think UA flies narrow bodies to Hawaii only heavies.

ETA just saw on EF they fly 738's from SFO to LIH

The _Banking_Scot

Hi

I think UA fly a few 737s from the west coast to hawaii currently

Regards

Tbs

mvoight

But, I think many us believe WIFI would be useful on 6 hour flights. This would probably be more useful on these 6 hour flights than on than one hour domestic flights on the NA continent, where WIFI is widely available

355F1

Good news: Wifi is FREE on this flight.




BAD NEWS: IT ONLY WORKS FOR A FEW MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF WHILE CONNECTED TO THE MAINLAND......

dkc192

UA's in the same boat with their 737s, most egregiously with their newly delivered 737 MAX 9s, which have Hawaii flying among their use cases (similar to the AA A321neo). How, well into the 21st century, a major airline can take delivery of these new aircraft while intentionally leaving a large hole in their wifi coverage is beyond me.

markiedawg

free til the sea! lost connection after leaving the california coast. phx to hnl on 321neo a month ago.

Centurion

AA is totally missing the mark on these routes. They make WN look like a luxury airline.

mtofell

I fly Alaska west coast to Hawaii a lot and am not familiar with how AA or UA planes are equipped. Being this is an issue near and dear to my heart here is what I can offer:

AS flies exclusively 737s (narrow bodies)
Roughly half of the fleet is updated with the wifi that works over the ocean
I'm not sure if this is AS specific but planes equipped with "2Ku" wifi means it works over the ocean, whereas ones with "ATG-4" don't. I look this up on an AS plane fleet page that lists the tail# of my specific plane for a given flight - not sure if there is the same thing for AA and/or UA.
The newer 737-max planes don't all have wifi since various airlines opted to add it themselves rather than paying Boeing to do it. So, it's not a matter of being out of the 21st century. I think it's more a matter of wanting to get their new planes in the air making money (fwiw, I do agree it's pretty lame).