Two airlines have moved to free WiFi on Hawaii flights, while another has just changed its pricing to make it cost double for some customers. Here’s what to expect with Delta, Southwest, Hawaiian and others.
Delta Airlines now offers free WiFi on all flights.
That includes flights to Hawaii, and the free offering began earlier this month. The caveat here is the likelihood of data mining and curated content. When Delta first wrote about the announcement that took place at CES, here’s what we noted:
Passengers can only get the new free WiFi by logging in with a Delta SkyMiles account. Of course, you can make an anonymous account up on the spot, and fabricate information, as commenters pointed out, to help protect your identity.
Delta Sync, their new WiFi product, lets Delta and its marketing partners collect and associate your personal data and behavior.
The way Delta puts it is, “Every customer should enjoy a journey that is customized and curated to their needs and preferences. By integrating with brands our customers know and love, we’re raising the bar even further to ensure every trip is fit for them.”
Southwest moves to per-flight WiFi fee.
On the other hand, Southwest Airlines has decided to charge on a per-flight basis rather than on the per-day basis currently in effect. That will increase the cost of WiFi from $8 to $16 for any Southwest passengers who have a connecting flight to or from Hawaii. This will take effect starting February 21, 2023. For those with a single flight to Hawaii, the price remains unchanged.
The good news is that Southwest is undergoing a significant WiFi upgrade on its planes to Viasat-provided service. That’s the exact service you’ll find on Delta Airlines, for example.
We are unaware of Southwest requiring a frequent flier number for access to the new faster WiFi, but of course, that is imminently possible.
Southwest’s per-flight WiFi cost basis is now the same as Alaska’s. United, on the other hand, still charges $8 per day rather than per flight.
Hawaiian Airlines free will roll out free WiFi later this year.
Delta was the first major US airline flying to Hawaii to introduce free Wi-Fi for all passengers. Next up for free WiFi is Hawaiian Airlines. That is due to arrive on mainland to Hawaii flights later this year.
We’ll await further word from Hawaiian as to whether or not their WiFi will be curated similarly to what Delta is doing. We are hard-pressed to think they will do otherwise.
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Paul L says
Hawaiian will be the first airline to use Elon Musk’s Starlink wifi system. We shall see how that works out compared to other established wifi systems.
Jim M says
It’s no big deal. We already get movies, live tv and recorded shows for no additional charge. If it’s truly important to certain passengers then the fee won’t matter.
I prefer to be entertained on long flights with reading, podcasts, music & movies. I suspect the social media junkies would prefer not to pay, however sooo many can’t put the damn phone down for even a few minutes so they’ll pay. I say let them go through with drawls.
Starla G says
This is one reason I like Delta, aside from the fact there are few issues when flying. Now if the prices would go down so I can book for October!
David B says
Southwest asks for my FF# when I pay for the wifi (along with cc# and an email address).Pretty sure that if I enter my FF#, it pulls up my saved CC that I use to purchase flights, so there is convenience for those of us that long ago gave up trying to stay unidentified on the internet. I can’t remember if the FF no. is mandatory. If you want a receipt emailed to you, you have to give them an email address.
“Curated for best experience” means they will clobber you with annoying ads for items you already have and don’t need/want. Ad Block is your friend.