Starlink Signs Major Airlines for In-Flight Connectivity in 2023

20.12.2023 - 17:42 / skift.com / Hawaiian Airlines / Airlines

In-flight internet connectivity has come a long way since 2003, when Connexion by Boeing launched and Lufthansa and British Airways became the first airlines to test it out. Airlines depended on ground stations that would relay signals when flying over land, switching to satellite connectivity when flying oceanic. It was slow.

But over the past 20 years, in-flight internet service has been one of the fastest changing aspects of passenger experience. Now, we have a real possibility of getting blazing-fast internet on board. 

SpaceX started to launch Starlink satellites in 2019 and now has over 5,500 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and an ability to bring online any part of the Earth that has an unobstructed line of sight to the sky. 

In October 2022, SpaceX rolled out Starlink products that could provide satellite internet connectivity to aircraft and branded them Starlink Aviation. 

At the time, SpaceX advertised global internet coverage, which would be possible by installing a small antenna atop the aircraft. It said that passengers could expect speeds of up to 350 megabits per second, making video streaming possible on board.  

Starlink’s website lists a monthly price of $25,000 to provide the service and an additional $150,000 for the hardware per aircraft. 

JSX, which operates over 40 Embraer Regional Jet aircraft in the United States with only 30 passenger seats, became the first airline to roll out connectivity using the Starlink Ku-band Low Earth Orbit connectivity solution in late 2022. 

Installing Starlink allows for connectivity from gate to gate, allowing passengers to stay connected for longer – unlike more conventional solutions, which require the aircraft to climb to 10,000 feet to enable a connection. 

In March 2023, JSX conducted a demonstration flight, where the attendees could usually get 100mbps download speeds. On the back of the high-speed connection, the airline could also offer video telephony and Voice over IP telephony, which the mainline carriers usually do not offer onboard aircraft. JSX has completed the implementation on its aircraft and currently offers it free to passengers. 

Starlink Aviation has had many wins since then. 

In 2022, Hawaiian Airlines became the first major airline to announce an agreement with Starlink. The airline intends to equip its Airbus A330 and A321neo aircraft and a fleet of incoming Boeing 787-9 aircraft with Starlink’s inflight connectivity from 2024 onwards. 

The airline will offer complimentary high-speed internet between the islands and continental U.S., Asia and Oceania.  

Latvian carrier airBaltic signed up in January to install Starlink across its A220-300 fleet, becoming the first European carrier to commit to it, with service now