---
title: "Viasat in-flight Wi-Fi: how it works, speeds and airlines"
url: "https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/viasat"
description: "How Viasat and Inmarsat in-flight Wi-Fi works: Ka-band geostationary satellites, what speeds and latency to expect, and which airlines use it."
---

Wi-Fi provider · Geostationary satellite

# Viasat in-flight Wi-Fi

Viasat runs Ka-band in-flight Wi-Fi from geostationary satellites, and since buying Inmarsat in 2023 it also runs Global Xpress. Viasat says it serves more than 60 airlines.

Runs it

Viasat, Inc., of Carlsbad, California. It completed its acquisition of Inmarsat in May 2023, so Inmarsat’s aviation business is now part of Viasat.

Also known as

Inmarsat, Global Xpress, GX Aviation, Viasat AMARA, ViaSat-3

Link

Ka-band geostationary satellites: ViaSat-1, ViaSat-2, ViaSat-3 and Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX). Viasat AMARA adds partner and planned low-orbit capacity.

Speed

Viasat doesn’t publish a per-aircraft speed for airline Wi-Fi. Viasat says ViaSat-3 F2 and F3 each have more than 1 Tbps of capacity, shared by their customers.

Latency

Not published. A geostationary satellite hop can add roughly 500 ms of round-trip propagation delay.

Sign-in page

Portal and sign-in vary by airline. Viasat offers airlines branded portal design and support.

**Checked 1 November 2026.**

## How it works

Geostationary satellite

A Ka-band antenna on top of the aircraft links to Viasat satellites in geostationary orbit, about 36,000 km above the equator. The satellites relay traffic to ground stations, which connect to the internet. The aircraft then shares that link with passengers over cabin Wi-Fi.

Viasat has two families of Ka-band satellites. The first is ViaSat-1, ViaSat-2 and the ViaSat-3 series. The second is Global Xpress, or GX, a global mobile Ka-band network. Viasat says GX is served by six satellites, with five more GX payloads planned.

ViaSat-3 F1 entered service in 2024 and serves airline customers over North America. ViaSat-3 F2 came into service in 2026 over the Americas. Viasat says F3, for Asia-Pacific, is entering service in 2026.

Two GX10 payloads sit in a highly elliptical orbit to reach above 65 degrees north, where geostationary satellites sit low on the horizon. That matters for polar and Arctic routes.

Viasat AMARA, launched in 2025, is a software upgrade to the existing Viasat terminal. Viasat calls it multi-network and multi-orbit. It blends Viasat’s Ka-band satellites with partner satellites and, later, low-orbit capacity, including Telesat Lightspeed.

Viasat also runs the European Aviation Network with Deutsche Telekom for short-haul flights in Europe. It combines an S-band satellite with ground towers, and has [its own page](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/european-aviation-network).

## Speeds and latency

Viasat doesn’t publish a speed per aircraft or per passenger for airline Wi-Fi. Its airline pages describe the service as fast and able to stream video, without figures.

Viasat says ViaSat-3 F2 and F3 each provide more than 1 Tbps of throughput. This is satellite capacity shared across customers, not a per-passenger speed.

The signal travels about 36,000 km up and back down twice per round trip. The ITU estimates about 500 ms of round-trip propagation delay for a geostationary satellite. Other network delays add to that.

Because the satellites stay fixed over the equator, coverage is wide and steady. Aircraft flying far north lose the satellite near the horizon, which is why Viasat added GX10 in a high orbit.

## Airlines that use it

- [Delta Air Lines](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/delta-air-lines): United States
- [JetBlue](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/jetblue): United States
- [American Airlines](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/american-airlines): United States
- [Korean Air](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/korean-air): Asia-Pacific
- [Lufthansa](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/lufthansa): Europe
- [British Airways](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/british-airways): Europe
- [Qantas](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/qantas): Asia-Pacific

Viasat’s own pages also name Etihad Airways, Breeze, Azul, Royal Jordanian, Icelandair, LOT Polish Airlines, Aeromexico, Riyadh Air, Azerbaijan Airlines, Jetstar, National Airlines, Vueling and AEGEAN. Lufthansa, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and AEGEAN use the European Aviation Network.

## Signing in

Sign-in varies by airline. Viasat offers branded passenger portals, but the network and portal depend on your flight.

1. Turn on Wi-Fi and join the network the airline names on board.
2. Open a browser if the sign-in page doesn’t appear on its own.
3. Sign in or pick a plan on the airline’s page. Some airlines ask you to log in to a loyalty account first.

Follow the airline’s own Wi-Fi page for its network name and plans.

## Background

Viasat completed its acquisition of Inmarsat in May 2023, combining the two companies’ teams and technology. Viasat now describes the S-band satellite behind the European Aviation Network as its own.

Delta began free Wi-Fi for SkyMiles members on Viasat-equipped aircraft on 1 February 2023. In March 2023 Viasat said its system would cover more than 1,000 Delta aircraft, including A330, A350 and 767 widebodies.

American’s free Wi-Fi for AAdvantage members, launched in January 2026, runs on Viasat and Intelsat (now SES). American says more than 900 of its mainline aircraft have one of the two.

Etihad is fitting Viasat AMARA across most of its fleet, Viasat said in November 2025. Its A350s and 787s come from the factory with Viasat equipment.

## On board with Kilobat

Kilobat is a Mac menu-bar app that shows what each app sends and holds back what can wait. On a plane:

- **The sign-in page.** When it doesn’t open by itself, the menu bar says **This Wi-Fi wants you to sign in**, with **Open sign-in page**. Turn your VPN on after you’ve signed in.
- **Mark it metered.** macOS treats plane Wi-Fi as unlimited. Mark it **Metered** in Kilobat’s Wi-Fi menu or with `kilobat networks cost metered`, and Kilobat skips its own speed tests. If automatic switching is enabled, it switches to Travel.
- **Updates wait.** With Pro, paused updaters enabled and the network filter on, macOS Software Update, App Store downloads, Google Updater and Microsoft AutoUpdate wait for an unmetered network. The apps keep working.
- **See what’s using it.** Every app’s upload and download, live in the menu bar, so a messaging-only plan isn’t spent on a sync you forgot.
- **Send later.** A big upload, such as Dropbox syncing a folder, shows as a row with its speed. With Pro, **Send later** can hold it until you’re on unmetered Wi-Fi again, for up to eight hours while Kilobat is open.
- **Know what’s slow.** Expect pings of 600 ms or more on a geostationary link. That is the distance to the satellite, not your Mac. Health shows latency and loss, and with Pro their history through the flight. When Slack or Zoom won’t load, [Is it them or me?](https://kilobat.app/is-it-down) reads the service’s status page.

More in [what to do before you board](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi#before-you-board).

[Download for Mac ↓](https://kilobat.app/downloads/Kilobat-1.31.1.dmg?via=site)

```
brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat
```

## Questions

**Is Inmarsat Wi-Fi the same as Viasat?**

Yes, now. Viasat completed its acquisition of Inmarsat in May 2023, so Inmarsat’s aviation service is run by Viasat.

**Why does Viasat Wi-Fi feel slow on video calls?**

Geostationary satellites are about 36,000 km up. The ITU estimates about 500 ms round-trip propagation delay, before other network delays.

**Does Viasat have a single website to sign in on board?**

Viasat offers branded portals to airlines. Use the network and sign-in page your airline names.

## Sources

- [Viasat: AMARA launch and terminal upgrade (2025)](https://www.viasat.com/news/latest-news/aviation/2025/viasat-launches-amara--next-generation-in-flight-connectivity-so/)
- [Viasat: commercial aviation in-flight connectivity](https://www.viasat.com/aviation/commercial-aviation/in-flight-connectivity/)
- [Viasat: Viasat AMARA](https://www.viasat.com/aviation/commercial-aviation/in-flight-connectivity/viasat-amara/)
- [Viasat: passenger portals](https://www.viasat.com/aviation/commercial-aviation/passenger-portals/)
- [Viasat: ViaSat-3 satellites](https://www.viasat.com/about/technology/satellite-fleet/viasat-3/)
- [Viasat: Global Xpress satellites](https://www.viasat.com/about/technology/satellite-fleet/global-xpress/)
- [Viasat: customer spotlight](https://www.viasat.com/aviation/commercial-aviation/customer-spotlight/)
- [Viasat: Viasat’s 2024 accomplishments](https://www.viasat.com/perspectives/corporate/2024/viasats-2024-accomplishments-a-look-back/)
- [Viasat: Etihad Airways selects Viasat AMARA (November 2025)](https://www.viasat.com/news/latest-news/aviation/2025/etihad-airways-selects-viasat-amara-for-full-fleet/)
- [Viasat: Jetstar selects Viasat AMARA (April 2026)](https://www.viasat.com/news/latest-news/aviation/2026/jetstar-selects-viasat-inflight-connectivity-long-haul-international-routes/)
- [Viasat: more Delta aircraft, including widebodies (March 2023)](https://www.viasat.com/news/latest-news/aviation/2023/viasat-to-provide-in-flight-connectivity-to-additional-delta-aircraft-including-widebodies/)
- [Viasat: Vueling free Wi-Fi on EAN (April 2026)](https://www.viasat.com/news/latest-news/aviation/2026/viasat-and-vueling-enhance-customer-satisfaction-with-new-free--/)
- [American Airlines newsroom: free Wi-Fi sponsored by AT&T (January 2026)](https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2026/American-Airlines-launches-FREE-high-speed-Wi-Fi-sponsored-by-ATT-available-on-more-aircraft-than-any-other-carrier-in-the-world/default.aspx)
- [Deutsche Telekom: European Aviation Network’s third anniversary (March 2022)](https://www.telekom.com/en/newsroom/latest-updates/media-information/2022/3/european-aviation-network-celebrates-birthday)
- [Lufthansa Group: more than 150 additional short and medium-haul aircraft with broadband (January 2024)](https://newsroom.lufthansagroup.com/en/lufthansa-group-equips-more-than-150-additional-short-and-medium-haul-aircraft-with-broadband-internet-access/)
- [ITU: Satellite system integration and propagation delay](https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/opb/rep/R-REP-M.2460-2019-PDF-E.pdf)

Checked on 1 November 2026.

## Other providers

- [European Aviation Network](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/european-aviation-network): GEO satellite, Air-to-ground
- [SES](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/intelsat): GEO satellite, LEO satellite
- [Panasonic Avionics](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/panasonic-avionics): GEO satellite, LEO satellite
- [Starlink](https://kilobat.app/in-flight-wifi/starlink-aviation): LEO satellite