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Old 06-11-2017, 12:29 PM
 
1,167 posts, read 1,802,782 times
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For work, I fly basically every week. I fly all over the world, domestic & international. I never fly without wifi for the past couple years, including international.

For some reason, the long flights to Hawaii NEVER have wifi. I know the ones from the West coast do (the short ones), but not from any of the far ones. I don't understand, why?! International oversea flights have wifi, but why not to Hawaii?? I don't get it

Last edited by unknown00; 06-11-2017 at 12:54 PM..
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Old 06-11-2017, 02:55 PM
 
Location: Kahala
12,120 posts, read 17,725,682 times
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It depends on the wifi hardware the plane has onboard. Some planes although equipped with wifi aren't setup for satellite wifi hence won't work over the ocean. In those cases they are using ground to air wifi.

Delta is fairly aggressive with putting satellite wifi in planes - before you book try to find out from the airline if 1) do they have any wifi, for instance no wifi on Hawaiian and 2) if they have wifi is it satellite or ground to air
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Old 06-11-2017, 03:58 PM
 
Location: BBB and FDA and Mission:Impossible #1
111 posts, read 89,621 times
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I would guess that if there isn't a good technological explanation then it could be a superstitious explanation. You see, traditionally, men visiting Hawaii in the past had taken a liking to native Hawaii women and used them like hookers. This went on a long time. Women, being far more superstitious than men, probably see the word "wi-fi" as closely related to the word "wife" but with a reductionist sort of quality to it. So, add on to that superstition the near rhyme of the words "Hawaii" and "wi-fi" and you start to see that maybe the lack of onboard wi-fi has to do with semantics and wordplay a lot more than technology and service. Unfortunately, in the Reduced States of America, powerful people make decisions based on superstition and wordplay rather than logic and reality. But don't go asking airline CEOs about their superstiutious belief decisions, they will deny their follies.

I think it all boils down to the subtle message that Hawaiian women aren't going to be your wifies anymore.
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Old 06-11-2017, 04:24 PM
 
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It could be that there just aren't many satellites over the empty spaces of the Pacific. I know that's why satellite TV cuts out about 50 miles over the ocean past California. DirecTV isn't going to pay millions of dollars to put satellites up over areas where there aren't going to be many subscribers (I knew someone once who worked for the territorial govt in Guam, and they tried to negotiate with Dish and DirecTV to launch service in Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands. When the companies ran the numbers, they realized they would never earn back the money it would cost to launch the satellite). When you fly from the mainland US to Asia, planes actually travel the great circle route and fly up over Canada and Alaska rather than across the ocean as distance-wise it's shorter and doesn't involve flying into the jetstream, so there is more a chance they'd be close to where data satellites operate.

The test would be flying to Australia from North America, which does cross a lot of open Ocean. The last time I made that flight, Wi-Fi on planes was still a fantasy, so it would be interesting if someone who went recently knows.
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Old 06-11-2017, 04:56 PM
 
Location: Kahala
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Texamichiforniasota View Post
It could be that there just aren't many satellites over the empty spaces of the Pacific. I know that's why satellite TV cuts out about 50 miles over the ocean past California. DirecTV isn't going to pay millions of dollars to put satellites up over areas where there aren't going to be many subscribers (I knew someone once who worked for the territorial govt in Guam, and they tried to negotiate with Dish and DirecTV to launch service in Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands. When the companies ran the numbers, they realized they would never earn back the money it would cost to launch the satellite).

The test would be flying to Australia from North America, which does cross a lot of open Ocean. The last time I made that flight, Wi-Fi on planes was still a fantasy, so it would be interesting if someone who went recently knows.
There are plenty of satellites over the Pacfic to provide wifi coverage. The plane has to have satellite based wifi as opposed to ground to air.

There are no problems accessing wifi from Australia to North America

We get DirectTV in Hawaii. They are different satellites than the N America satellites
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Old 06-17-2017, 08:15 PM
 
Location: Puna, Hawaii
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All the plane wi-fi systems I've used rely on cell towers.

No cell towers over water=no internet.

International planes are an entirely different economy of scale and can afford much more expensive satellite wi-fi.
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Old 06-18-2017, 01:07 PM
 
Location: Middle of the valley
48,253 posts, read 34,376,230 times
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I'm pretty sure I've been on flights with wifi..... not something I would pay for, we come loaded with books, movies and TV shows on our devices, and I haven't flown internationally in decades.
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Old 06-19-2017, 04:21 PM
 
Location: Naʻālehu, Hawai'i
85 posts, read 97,700 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by unknown00 View Post
For some reason, the long flights to Hawaii NEVER have wifi. I know the ones from the West coast do (the short ones), but not from any of the far ones. I don't understand, why?! International oversea flights have wifi, but why not to Hawaii?? I don't get it
Have you ever called? Perhaps you are not choosing the correct airlines.
Flights from Newark to Honolulu on United have wifi.
Longest 11 hours of a man's life right there though, save the wifi and give me bourbon and a pillow.
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Old 06-19-2017, 05:06 PM
 
Location: Kahala
12,120 posts, read 17,725,682 times
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If you want Wifi to/from Hawaii, here is what is available from the US carriers:

Hawaiian - no wifi, none announced

United - some wifi, all planes except the 737 and 757 have satellite wifi

American - maybe. They are in process of installing satellite wifi, it will take up to 2 years to complete.

Alaska - soon, they are in process of installing satellite wifi, will take up to 2 years

Virgin America - no, they have ground based wifi, likely to change since Alaska bought them

Delta - some wifi, in process of upgrading to satellite wifi
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Old 06-21-2017, 03:00 PM
 
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the newer planes do offer it. and the internet connection is through satellite, so it's more expensive. I've flown on international flights that offered.
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