Qantas starts international wifi

[AIRwin]

And welcome to AFF @HNL

Aloha?

 

[moa999]

Launch of ViaSat3 F2 had another deferral this morning due to weather and an ongoing water valve issue.
Still waiting on a new launch window.

 

[Bundy Bear]

QF51 had internet through to just past Darwin aircraft VH-EBJ

 

[moa999]

QF51 had internet through to just past Darwin aircraft VH-EBJ

Did you check if it came back closer to SIN?

 

[ozstamps]

Toying with booking Qantas Sydney-Santiago, Chile on 787

Anyone know if Wifi will be possible by March? 14 hour flights with no Wifi is not an option for me.

Qantas of course does not believe it flies to Chile - so their info is useless -

https://www.qantas.com/en-cl/onboard/entertainment/wifi#:~:text=Back%20to%20top-,International%20Wi%2DFi%20expansion,connected%20everywhere%20in%20the%20air.

 

[elanshin]

Toying with booking Qantas Sydney-Santiago, Chile on 787

Anyone know if Wifi will be possible by March? 14 hour flights with no Wifi is not an option for me.

Qantas of course does not believe it flies to Chile - so their info is useless -

https://www.qantas.com/en-cl/onboard/entertainment/wifi#:~:text=Back%20to%20top-,International%20Wi%2DFi%20expansion,connected%20everywhere%20in%20the%20air.

M

Post in thread 'Qantas starts international wifi'

Nov 4, 2025

I wonder what 787 routes would even have much coverage atm. Maybe just some parts of the transpacific? Europe maybe once the satelite is launched and fully operational.

The Pacific Ocean is completely covered. To Europe though there isn’t any coverage till around the Middle East.

• milehighclub

However keep in mind there is exactly 1 789 that has the wifi hump. Maybe 2 or 3 at most by March. Your odds will be low.

 

[gtrod]

I flew QF74 SFO-SYD on VH-ZNJ on 4 Nov, the 100th Anniversary QF 789 and we had Viasat Wifi. pleasant surprise

I was also quite happy to be on VH-ZNJ to HNL on Nov1. Was not expecting internet and it worked well the whole flight.

Certainly worked a lot better than my usual PER-MEL route. Hopefully they can sort out the dropouts once the plane is over the bight.

 

[moa999]

Another ULA launch attempt on Fri Aus time.

Launch Date and Window: Nov. 13 between 10:04 and 10:48 p.m. EST (0304-0348 UTC Nov. 14)
Or 1404-1448 AEST

 

[moa999]

And a successful launch by ULA of ViaSat3 F2.

EIS is early 2026 servicing the Americas per the ULA launch blog.

This Boeing-built satellite will spend several months traveling to geostationary orbit using its all-electric propulsion system and will provide broadband services from an orbital slot located at 79 degrees west longitude.

It will go through rigorous in-orbit testing of both the bus and payload before entering service, still expected to occur in early 2026. The ViaSat-3 satellites are each designed to provide coverage over nearly one-third of the Earth and ViaSat-3 F2 is expected to provide services over the Americas to address increasing customer demand.

 

[encryptededdy]

Working well on my WLG - SYD flight in a 737, I can stream 1080p YouTube and use my work VPN with no issues. Significantly better than my experience with the AirNZ 787 trans tasman wifi, which was usable for messaging only at best.

I suppose I'm glad Qantas waited and delivered a much more usable free wifi product than NZ, even though I was pretty miffed that QF had nothing when NZ launched wifi years ago.

 

[aussieboozer]

Working well on my WLG - SYD flight in a 737, I can stream 1080p YouTube and use my work VPN with no issues. Significantly better than my experience with the AirNZ 787 trans tasman wifi, which was usable for messaging only at best.

I suppose I'm glad Qantas waited and delivered a much more usable free wifi product than NZ, even though I was pretty miffed that QF had nothing when NZ launched wifi years ago.

View attachment 481898

On the same flight now and the service is very usable. 47.6 down and 9.7 up.