Starlink for inflight.

[Airbrake]

https://westjet.mediaroom.com/2024-07-2 ... y-Starlink

[CpnCrunch]

They already have wifi on their aircraft with Boingo. Presumably this is cheaper.

[co-joe]

They already have wifi on their aircraft with Boingo. Presumably this is cheaper.

Is it cheaper, or is it a better product to compete with Porter's high speed wifi?

[CpnCrunch]

Is it cheaper, or is it a better product to compete with Porter's high speed wifi?

Both. Boingo/Panasonic works ok, but Starlink is in a completely different league.

[daedalusx]

They already have wifi on their aircraft with Boingo. Presumably this is cheaper.

Is it cheaper, or is it a better product to compete with Porter's high speed wifi?

Starlink has a bit more bandwidth and a latency so low you can actually game on it. That said I wouldn’t be surprised if the free complimentary wifi will be capped for bandwidth (no streaming, no VPN, http/s protocols only) and if you want to have the full featured product, you’ll have to pay extra. Depending how they do the implementation, it should be a better product that Porter which uses viasat which is an earlier generation of satellite technology although they did improve their ka-band offering to compete with Starlink. It’s basically 2 different approaches, Starlink uses a low earth orbit constellation and viasat use geostationary high earth orbit, the bandwidth speed can be similar but you’ll always have a lower latency with Starlink just due to signal distance.

Boingo, last I’ve checked, is ground cellular based, slower and probably has an higher cost of operation plus you’ll still need a sat uplink over the ocean.

[CpnCrunch]

Boingo, last I’ve checked, is ground cellular based, slower and probably has an higher cost of operation plus you’ll still need a sat uplink over the ocean.

On WJ, you log in via boingo to use the satellite service, but it uses Panasonic satellite wifi.

[julcancro]

They already have wifi on their aircraft with Boingo. Presumably this is cheaper.

Is it cheaper, or is it a better product to compete with Porter's high speed wifi?

Starlink has a bit more bandwidth and a latency so low you can actually game on it. That said I wouldn’t be surprised if the free complimentary wifi will be capped for bandwidth (no streaming, no VPN, http/s protocols only) and if you want to have the full featured product, you’ll have to pay extra. Depending how they do the implementation, it should be a better product that Porter which uses viasat which is an earlier generation of satellite technology although they did improve their ka-band offering to compete with Starlink. It’s basically 2 different approaches, Starlink uses a low earth orbit constellation and viasat use geostationary high earth orbit, the bandwidth speed can be similar but you’ll always have a lower latency with Starlink just due to signal distance.

Boingo, last I’ve checked, is ground cellular based, slower and probably has an higher cost of operation plus you’ll still need a sat uplink over the ocean.

No they intend to allow streaming for their next generation of wifi. Much like how Porter offers high speed wifi.As they do not have seatback tv's , they have to offer something compelling and updated and competitive.

from the article:

"deliver enough bandwidth and lowest latency internet for every guest onboard to live-stream videos or online game direct from their devices as if they were at home."

You will only have to pay if you did not sign up for westjet rewards beforehand. They don't plan to charge westjet rewards members as they did with the panasonic system. that method created poor value for customers.

[daedalusx]

Is it cheaper, or is it a better product to compete with Porter's high speed wifi?

Starlink has a bit more bandwidth and a latency so low you can actually game on it. That said I wouldn’t be surprised if the free complimentary wifi will be capped for bandwidth (no streaming, no VPN, http/s protocols only) and if you want to have the full featured product, you’ll have to pay extra. Depending how they do the implementation, it should be a better product that Porter which uses viasat which is an earlier generation of satellite technology although they did improve their ka-band offering to compete with Starlink. It’s basically 2 different approaches, Starlink uses a low earth orbit constellation and viasat use geostationary high earth orbit, the bandwidth speed can be similar but you’ll always have a lower latency with Starlink just due to signal distance.

Boingo, last I’ve checked, is ground cellular based, slower and probably has an higher cost of operation plus you’ll still need a sat uplink over the ocean.

No they intend to allow streaming for their next generation of wifi. Much like how Porter offers high speed wifi.As they do not have seatback tv's , they have to offer something compelling and updated and competitive.

from the article:

"deliver enough bandwidth and lowest latency internet for every guest onboard to live-stream videos or online game direct from their devices as if they were at home."

You will only have to pay if you did not sign up for westjet rewards beforehand. They don't plan to charge westjet rewards members as they did with the panasonic system. that method created poor value for customers.

That’s such a positive for the customer, I’m shocked that it came out of the current Westjet executive team
That’s the same team that decided to axe fresh cream for coffee and replace basic fare with ultra basic

[CpnCrunch]

You will only have to pay if you did not sign up for westjet rewards beforehand. They don't plan to charge westjet rewards members as they did with the panasonic system. that method created poor value for customers.

Wifi is currently free for RBC mastercard holders, but limited to 10 sessions per year.

[digits_]

You will only have to pay if you did not sign up for westjet rewards beforehand. They don't plan to charge westjet rewards members as they did with the panasonic system. that method created poor value for customers.

That’s such a positive for the customer, I’m shocked that it came out of the current Westjet executive team
That’s the same team that decided to axe fresh cream for coffee and replace basic fare with ultra basic

I wouldn't be surprised if they start charging a membership fee to become a westjet rewards member in about 6 months

[julcancro]

You will only have to pay if you did not sign up for westjet rewards beforehand. They don't plan to charge westjet rewards members as they did with the panasonic system. that method created poor value for customers.

That’s such a positive for the customer, I’m shocked that it came out of the current Westjet executive team
That’s the same team that decided to axe fresh cream for coffee and replace basic fare with ultra basic

I wouldn't be surprised if they start charging a membership fee to become a westjet rewards member in about 6 months

That would be most unusual and negate the value completely of being a loyal customer. There is low probability of them charging to join .