SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.), a private American aerospace manufacturer, space transportation company, and satellite communications provider, has officially signed a contract to provide Starlink satellite internet service to upgrade in-flight Wi-Fi across a large portion of American Airlines flights.
The Airline company said it has no plans to change internet providers on its fleet of wide-body aircraft, which use Viasat and Panasonic. According to the company, the Starlink internet systems will be installed on its over 500 narrow-body planes used for domestic and short-haul international flights.
The narrow-body planes include Airbus A321neo, Airbus A321XLR, and Other narrow-body Airbus aircraft The installations are scheduled to begin in Q1 2027. The airline says the goal is to deliver a more “at-home” internet experience in the air.
Satellite internet has significantly improved the flying experience for airlines and passengers alike. In the past, browsing the web during flights was painfully slow, but advances in satellite connectivity have made faster and more reliable in-flight internet possible. With it, passengers can stream videos, play games, do video calls, and engage with real-time collaboration tools during flight.
Notably, this is not the first flight deal the Elon Musk's SpaceX and Starlink Internet company have secured—they've both been doing well in providing internet service in the airline industry. The companies also struck a comparable partnership with Alaska Airlines last year.
In fact, several major carriers—including United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, British Airways, and Air France—are currently using its satellite-based internet service to provide WiFi connection in flights. Meanwhile, Delta and JetBlue signed the in-flight Wi-Fi contract with Amazon’s low-Earth orbit satellite network for onboard connectivity.
LEO vs GEO for In-Flight Wi-Fi
Until now, many airline companies relied on older satellite systems in geostationary orbit (GEO satellites), which sit far above Earth. Because of the position of the GEI satellites in space, internet connection in flights is slow and unreliable. In fact, the means of internet provision is also weigh expensive.
But Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites work differently. They're relatively closer to the earth surface (typically between 160 km and 2,000 km above ground). Starlink uses thousands of LEO satellites that dramatically lowers latency and increase internet speeds. It's important to note that Starlink has a massive fleet of over 10,000 satellites orbiting the earth.
Industry testing from Ookla showed Starlink-powered airline internet consistently outperforming competing systems, with some flights seeing median download speeds above 150 Mbps. For real, Starlink is currently viewed as the leading competitor in the satellite internet industry. Its parent company, SpaceX, reported a revenue of $11.4 billion in 2025, which is about 61% of total sales.
This has brought many people to ask questions about the in-flight Wi-Fi whether it'll be free or not. Well, it could be free most likely for loyalty members. American airline already announced a partnership with AT&T to bring complimentary Wi-Fi to AAdvantage loyalty members. However, report has indicated that the Starlink connectivity is expected to become part of that broader free Wi-Fi strategy.
