WiFi Provider # Viasat WiFi — Flights + Cruises Ka-band satellite WiFi for aviation and maritime — JetBlue Fly-Fi, Delta, American, plus Inmarsat Fleet Xpress at sea. [Check Your Flight](/) [Compare: Starlink](/starlink) [All Airlines](/airlines) ## Provider Snapshot Tech Ka-band geostationary satellite Coverage North America + Atlantic, expanding global Typical Speed 12–25 Mbps per device Operators in DB 22 ## Where you'll find it Aviation JetBlue Fly-Fi is the flagship — plus partial deployments on American, Delta, United, Aeromexico, El Al, Qantas, Finnair. Maritime (Inmarsat Fleet Xpress / GX) Legacy GEO Ka-band aboard cruise ships, ferries and merchant vessels — now Viasat-branded post-2023 acquisition. Many cruise lines used it before switching to Starlink. ## About Viasat Viasat is a satellite operator and connectivity provider that pioneered high-throughput Ka-band WiFi on JetBlue's "Fly-Fi" — long the reference example of fast, free inflight WiFi in the US. Viasat acquired Inmarsat in 2023, combining Viasat's Ka-band network with Inmarsat's L-band safety services and Global Xpress Ka-band fleet to form one of the largest aviation and maritime connectivity providers outside Starlink. The combined company also powers Inmarsat Fleet Xpress at sea, used on a long tail of legacy cruise and merchant-marine deployments before the Starlink wave. Technology Ka-band satellite (geostationary) Coverage Strongest over North America and Atlantic; expanding global via ViaSat-3 + Inmarsat GX Typical Speed 12–25 Mbps typical per-passenger; 100+ Mbps to the aircraft ### History Viasat launched its consumer satellite broadband service in 2012 and rapidly expanded into aviation, signing JetBlue (Fly-Fi) and later Virgin America, United (limited fleets), American Airlines, and others. The ViaSat-2 satellite (2017) brought significantly higher throughput. Viasat closed its acquisition of Inmarsat in May 2023, gaining Inmarsat's Global Xpress (GX) Ka-band fleet and L-band safety business. ViaSat-3 satellites began deploying in 2023, though the first satellite suffered a partial antenna deployment failure. ## Operators using Viasat (22) ### Flights (22) [ AE Viasat Operator Aeromexico All Providers viasat 5/16/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/ae) [ AM Viasat Operator Aeromexico All Providers viasat, intelsat 2/27/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/am) [ NH Viasat Operator All Nippon Airways All Providers viasat, inmarsat 5/11/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/nh) [ AA Viasat Operator American Airlines All Providers viasat, intelsat, panasonic 7/4/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/aa) [ AD Viasat Operator Azul Brazilian Airlines All Providers viasat 2/27/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/ad) [ DL Viasat Operator Delta Air Lines All Providers viasat, hughes 6/9/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/dl) [ EY Viasat Operator Etihad Airways All Providers viasat 6/15/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/ey) [ AY Viasat Operator Finnair All Providers viasat, panasonic 2/27/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/ay) [ GU Viasat Operator Gulf Air All Providers viasat 1/20/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/gu) [ FI Viasat Operator Icelandair All Providers viasat 6/25/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/fi) [ B6 Viasat Operator JetBlue Airways All Providers viasat 2/27/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/b6) [ KL Viasat Operator KLM Royal Dutch Airlines All Providers viasat, panasonic 6/22/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/kl) [ LA Viasat Operator LATAM Airlines All Providers viasat 6/3/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/la) [ LO Viasat Operator LOT Polish Airlines All Providers viasat 5/28/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/lo) [ OM Viasat Operator Oman Air All Providers viasat 6/29/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/om) [ QF Viasat Operator Qantas All Providers viasat 2/27/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/qf) [ RJ Viasat Operator Royal Jordanian All Providers viasat 2/27/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/rj) [ SK Viasat Operator SAS Scandinavian Airlines All Providers viasat 8/1/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/sk) [ SQ Viasat Operator Singapore Airlines All Providers starlink, panasonic, viasat 5/4/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/sq) [ ST Viasat Operator STARLUX Airlines All Providers viasat 5/7/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/st) [ UA Viasat Operator United Airlines All Providers starlink, viasat 8/4/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/ua) [ VN Viasat Operator Vietnam Airlines All Providers viasat 2/27/2026 VIEW → ](/airlines/vn) [Airlines](/airlines) [Cruise](/cruise) [Rail](/rail) [Ferry](/ferry) [Bus](/bus) [See Starlink Operators](/starlink) ## How Viasat Compares Viasat's Ka-band still delivers a quality experience on the routes it covers well, especially JetBlue's domestic North American network. But Viasat is a geostationary system: latency is ~600ms versus Starlink's ~30ms, and total bandwidth per beam is finite. JetBlue itself signed Amazon Leo in late 2025 to begin replacing Fly-Fi, signaling the broader shift away from GEO satellite for premium inflight WiFi. | | Viasat | Starlink | | --- | --- | --- | | Orbit | GEO / ATG (~600ms latency) | LEO (~20–44ms latency) | | Typical Speed | 12–25 Mbps typical per-passenger; 100+ Mbps to the aircraft | 100+ Mbps typical, 350+ peak | | Latency | ~600ms (GEO) / 60–100ms (ATG) | ~20–44ms | | Trajectory | Defending installed base | Rapid airline adoption | ## Frequently Asked Questions Which airlines use Viasat WiFi? Viasat powers JetBlue Fly-Fi (the most famous example), and is used on parts of the American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Aeromexico, El Al, Qantas, and Finnair fleets, plus various charter and government aviation customers. Is Viasat the same as Inmarsat? Since May 2023, yes — Viasat acquired Inmarsat. The combined company operates Viasat's Ka-band consumer/aviation network plus Inmarsat's Global Xpress Ka-band fleet and L-band safety services. Some airlines still describe their service as "Inmarsat GX," but the operator is Viasat. How fast is Viasat WiFi on planes? Viasat typically delivers 12–25 Mbps per device on aircraft equipped with its newer terminals, with total bandwidth to the aircraft of 100+ Mbps. JetBlue Fly-Fi is generally considered fast enough for streaming. Performance drops on heavily-loaded flights or routes near beam edges. Is Viasat free on JetBlue? Yes — JetBlue Fly-Fi has been free for all passengers on every Viasat-equipped aircraft since 2013, branded as "Fly-Fi." That said, JetBlue has signed an Amazon Leo deal and will eventually transition some aircraft to Amazon's LEO satellite WiFi starting in 2027. Viasat vs Starlink — which is faster? Starlink wins on raw speed (typical 100+ Mbps per device, 350+ Mbps peak) and latency (~30ms vs Viasat's ~600ms geostationary latency). Viasat can still feel fast on lightly loaded flights, but for video calls and gaming, Starlink is dramatically better. Why is JetBlue moving away from Viasat? JetBlue announced an Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) deal in September 2025, with installations beginning on A321 aircraft in 2027. JetBlue will continue running Fly-Fi free of charge but will switch the underlying provider on a portion of the fleet to Amazon's LEO satellite network for higher speeds and lower latency. ## Sources - [ →Viasat completes Inmarsat acquisition (May 2023) ](https://www.viasat.com/about/newsroom/press-releases/viasat-completes-acquisition-of-inmarsat/) - [ →Viasat aviation overview ](https://www.viasat.com/space-innovation/aviation/) - [ →JetBlue Fly-Fi history ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly-Fi) ## Compare Other Providers Viasat (current) [Gogo](/providers/gogo)[Panasonic](/providers/panasonic)[Intelsat](/providers/intelsat)[Anuvu](/providers/anuvu)[Inmarsat](/providers/inmarsat)[Hughes](/providers/hughes)[SES](/providers/ses)[MedallionNet](/providers/medallionnet)[Icomera](/providers/icomera)[21Net](/providers/21net)[Marlink](/providers/marlink)[Telenor](/providers/telenor-maritime)[VSAT](/providers/vsat)[Cellular](/providers/cellular-bonding) [Starlink](/starlink)[Amazon Leo](/amazon-leo)[All Airlines](/airlines)[Free WiFi Guide](/guides/free-wifi)