Qantas starts international wifi

[moa999]

find it bonkers they are even continuing to install the Viasat gear.

Undoubtedly a tight contract.
Probably with liquidated damages if you use anyone else.

Anyhow the backbone in the plane is likely the same and the hole is cut in the fuselage, so I'd think the antenna replacement would be pretty quick.

 

[sudoer]

Undoubtedly a tight contract.
Probably with liquidated damages if you use anyone else.

Bonkers they agreed to it then!

 

[aaa99]

I was on ZNL last week (operating as QF5) and it did not have WiFi. Maybe a temporary issue, I did see the dome on it.

The crew also confirmed no WiFi but they were puzzled too as they assumed all the 787s should have WiFi by now

 

[VHOEJ]

Just because they have the Wifi mod doesnt mean it is connected. Activation is different to the physical modification of the aircraft

 

[aaa99]

Ofcourse, but i thought it was reported up thread that ZNL should have active WiFi by now

 

[moa999]

Ofcourse, but i thought it was reported up thread that ZNL should have active WiFi by now

We can only go from pictures or video streams of the humps.
But certainly we've had some confirmation that various aircraft have had it switched on immediately after being fitted

Per Post #517 ZNL had Wifi turned on, but suffered some issues, on its first flight back from HKG So maybe it's been turned off until it can go back to maintenance to check

 

[moa999]

Bonkers they agreed to it then!

Remember the contract was signed back in 2017. Aot less options back then

And we are talking hundreds of millions to construct and launch these geostationary satellites - they want to ensure the customers are locked in.

Would be the same as asking Boeing or Airbus finance for funding on a new aircraft but you wanted month to month terms.

 

[sudoer]

And we are talking hundreds of millions to construct and launch these geostationary satellites - they want to ensure the customers are locked in.

Why is Qantas uniquely in this predicament then? Plenty of other airlines are already ditching ViaSat for Starlink. It feels the issue is more likely to stem from poor procurement processes and business decision making.

 

[moa999]

Why is Qantas uniquely in this predicament then?

Hardly uniquely.
But in general other airlines rolled out Wifi earlier so were likely out of contract for some / all of its fleet.

AAs recent announcement is only for its narrowbody Airbus fleet, the rest presumably remains under contract.

https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2026/American-to-install-Starlink-the-fastest-Wi-Fi-in-the-sky-MKG-OB-05/default.aspx

Remember satellites historically covered populated land masses so Europe and US airlines had plenty of options for domestic coverage, but very few covered sea routes - so Qantas had a lot less options versus other carriers.

Depending on their contract terms, in a far worse position might be Starlux who signed a contract with Viasat only 16 months ago.

STARLUX commits to Viasat with launch of enhanced in-flight connectivity service

New, high-speed connectivity set to roll out across the carrier’s full fleet to further distinguish STARLUX’s exceptional in-flight experience

www.viasat.com

 

[sudoer]

But in general other airlines rolled out Wifi earlier

more likely to stem from poor procurement processes and business decision making

Sounds like we are in agreement

 

[henrus]

Some very solid speed leaving NZ today:

 

[_chris2177]

Just because they have the Wifi mod doesnt mean it is connected. Activation is different to the physical modification of the aircraft

90% of the time hardware means its activated.

 

[BrianQQ]

Isn't Viasat acquiring some LEO providers or smth?

 

[elanshin]

Isn't Viasat acquiring some LEO providers or smth?

They're partnering with Telesat for it's Lightspeed LEO (although the orbit will be higher than Starlink's with a much smaller constellation). That said its current launch timing is Q1 2028.

Starlink will still be best in class and it'll take some astronomical shift to change that equation. Just can't compete with how many satellites SpaceX can launch and thus create a huge starlink network. More throughput and lower latency basically heck we're talking potential latency that may not be far off ground based broadband latency.

The current commercial satellite service providers likely knows this and thus they're sort of facing their Nokia moment right now.

 

[moa999]

VH-ZNN back from HKG overnight into SYD so onto hump watch

 

[levelnine]

Currently on VH-ZNG and wifi is slow but usable across the Pacific (we've just passed Kiribati).

It was announced as available to all passengers at the start of the flight.

 

[elanshin]

Speedtest onboard VH-ZNC over Australia. Interestingly my Laptop adjusted itself to Central European Time.

Also had a chat with the Cabin Manager. He mentioned all 787s are now done so theres no roulette of missing wifi, first 380 is getting fitted now and that the 4 remaining 330s will never get it as they're supposed to be the first to retire.

 

[TeaKozy]

...the 4 remaining 330s will never get it as they're supposed to be the first to retire.

God forbid they were to improve passenger amenity and deliver what they said:

Qantas has set a new date for its international fleet to be fitted with Wi-Fi, pledging to have the service available on all widebodies in nine more months.

Good thing they waited for a faster offering, rather than offering... anything at all.

Given past investment, I'd expect to see the Viasat gear outlast the plane.

 

[elanshin]

God forbid they were to improve passenger amenity and deliver what they said:

Qantas has set a new date for its international fleet to be fitted with Wi-Fi, pledging to have the service available on all widebodies in nine more months.

Good thing they waited for a faster offering, rather than offering... anything at all.

Given past investment, I'd expect to see the Viasat gear outlast the plane.

My assumption was that vh-qpa would be due for major checks pretty soon (~12 months perhaps or even less) and that would mean its retirement. Then following that b, c d wouldn't be far behind.

 

[moa999]

My assumption was that vh-qpa would be due for major checks pretty soon (~12 months perhaps or even less

Not sure if that soon.
Albeit the first batch of 4 789s (along with the 8 78X and 12 regular 35Ks) was due to arrive in FY27 (so by June 2027) but Qantas is yet to be allocated any production slots on the 787 build sheets.