Alaska Airlines announced plans to offer streaming-fast satellite Wi-Fi on a regional jet aircraft. The company has selected Intelsat's newest satellite Wi-Fi technology to make that happen. Intelsat's new system closely aligns with Alaska's needs for regional fleet.

The new, faster service will utilize an electronically steered array (ESA) which is a small, lighter weight antenna with no moving parts – making it easier to maintain in the unique regional environment. In an industry first, Intelsat's new system will communicate with both traditional geostationary (GEO) satellites and new low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. With an additional $25 million investment, this upgrade represents a major step forward in the travel experience for guests, enabling higher speeds and more coverage in the air, particularly across areas in the state of Alaska.

The new system will debut on Horizon Air, sister airline, in early 2024 and roll out across regional jet fleet, including on partner SkyWest, over a two-year period. With nearly all mainline fleet set to feature satellite Wi-Fi by this April – also installed by Intelsat – on track to provide consistent streaming-fast Wi-Fi across entire fleet by 2026. Intelsat's satellite Wi-Fi equipment will be the first commercial application of an electronically steered antenna that communicates with both low Earth orbit and geostationary satellites located 22,000 miles from Earth.

With LEO at just 300 miles from the Earth's surface, thousands of small satellites circling the planet ensure stronger connectivity with lower latency, or delay in telecommunications. Being closer to Earth provides a benefit of a shorter delay time as data moves from the ground to satellites to aircraft and back. This unique combination of using both LEO and GEO satellites enables higher speeds and more coverage, particularly across remote areas in the state of Alaska.