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HawkinsCloseAndrew J. HawkinsTransportation editorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Andrew J. HawkinsMay 26, 2026, 4:07 PM UTCLinkShareGiftSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 12: American Airlines plane are takeoff and lands at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, United States on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images) Anadolu via Getty ImagesAndrew J. HawkinsCloseAndrew J. HawkinsPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Andrew J. Hawkins is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.American Airlines is planning to install SpaceX’s Starlink Wi-Fi in hundreds of its airplanes, the airline announced today.American says the deployment will start in the first quarter of 2027, and will span more than 500 aircraft, including its new A321XLR and A321neo planes from Airbus. Starlink will join Viastat and SES (previously known as Intelstat) as among the airline’s Wi-Fi providers.American is the latest air carrier to turn to Elon Musk’s Starlink for its Wi-Fi needs. Others include United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Lufthansa Group, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Alaska Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines recently struck a deal with Amazon Leo for Wi-Fi connectivity.Airlines are scrambling to make deals with satellite internet providers in the hopes of improving the traditionally dismal connectivity offerings on flights. Wi-Fi that relies on low-earth orbit satellites, like Starlink, tend to offer lower latency thanks to the shorter distance the signal has to travel as compared to satellites in geostationary orbit. Viasat uses geostationary satellites, while SES uses multi-orbit, low-earth orbit, and geostationary satellites.A recent report from Ookla found that SES-powered flights reported median download speeds of 61.61 Mbps, while Starlink-powered ones were averaging 152.37 Mbps. I got to test out Starlink on a United flight last year, and was getting download speeds of around 128 megabits-per-second (Mbps), while upload speeds were coming in a little slower at an average of 23.9 Mbps.“As a premium global airline, we are continuously seeking out world-class partners like Starlink to deliver what our customers need and want,” American Airlines Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden said in a statement. “The addition of Starlink solidifies American as a leading airline in keeping passengers connected in flight.”SpaceX’s recent IPO filing revealed that Starlink is the financial engine of the company, generating roughly $11 billion in annual revenue and acting as its only consistently profitable division. In the filing, SpaceX says that Starlink’s global network is designed to eliminate “dead zones” and supports performance on high-latitude routes “that can be challenging for traditional providers.”In recent years, airlines have been racing to integrate more tech features in hopes of winning over customers. JetBlue has offered free Wi-Fi on its flights since 2017, United and Delta have been looking to make it easy for customers to use Bluetooth headphones for the in-flight entertainment, and almost every company is adding content from popular streaming services to their seat-back displays or in-flight web portals.But while select video content and Spotify can help pass the time, nothing compares to just being able to use the internet on your own device.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Andrew J. HawkinsCloseAndrew J. 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American Airlines is planning a significant deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink Wi-Fi across its Airbus fleet, marking a move toward utilizing satellite internet for in-flight connectivity. The airline intends to begin installing Starlink on its aircraft starting in the first quarter of 2027, with the rollout expected to cover over five hundred planes, including newer models such as the A321XLR and A321neo aircraft. This initiative positions Starlink as one of the Wi-Fi providers alongside Viastat and SES, demonstrating the airline's adoption of this technology to enhance passenger connectivity. This decision reflects a broader trend among airlines that are actively seeking advanced partnerships to improve the traditionally limited connectivity offered during flights.

This development underscores the industry's effort to improve in-flight services, moving beyond passive entertainment to providing functional internet access for passengers. While many carriers have implemented features like free Wi-Fi or in-flight entertainment, the integration of satellite-based services like Starlink addresses the fundamental need for reliable internet usage on personal devices during travel. The underlying advantage of using low-earth orbit satellites, such as Starlink, is the potential for lower signal latency compared to systems that rely on geostationary orbit satellites, which are utilized by providers like Viasat.

Performance metrics suggest potential speed advantages for Starlink. A report from Ookla indicated that flights utilizing SES-powered systems averaged median download speeds of 61.61 Mbps, whereas flights powered by Starlink achieved an average of 152.37 Mbps. Personal experience testing also reported download speeds of approximately 128 megabits-per-second on a United flight using Starlink. This disparity highlights the technical benefits of the low-earth orbit infrastructure in terms of data transmission efficiency. American Airlines Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden stated that incorporating Starlink reinforces the airline’s position as a leader in ensuring passenger connectivity during air travel.

Beyond the airline application, Starlink itself represents a substantial financial entity within the aerospace sector. SpaceX recently disclosed that Starlink functions as the primary financial engine for the company, generating approximately $11 billion in annual revenue and operating as the sole consistently profitable division. SpaceX's design for its global network is intended to eliminate connectivity dead zones and provide performance on routes that pose challenges for traditional telecommunication providers, particularly those at high latitudes. This context positions Starlink not merely as a connectivity service but as a critical infrastructure component, driven by the financial success of the parent company. The airline's integration signifies a convergence of commercial aviation needs with advanced satellite technology and the growing reliance on space-based infrastructure for global communication services.