The corporate has already received contracts with United, Southwest and different carriers.
SpaceX has signed a contract to supply Starlink satellite tv for pc Wi-Fi to American Airways flights, in keeping with a report by CNBC. American Airways will outfit greater than 500 of its narrow-body plane with Starlink know-how. This integration will begin early subsequent yr. The corporate says it has no plans to alter web suppliers on its fleet of wide-body plane, which use Viasat and Panasonic.
Satellite tv for pc web has been a boon for airline carriers. Browsing the net was once gradual as molasses whereas traversing the sky, however satellite tv for pc protection has allowed speeds to extend. This comes only one yr after American introduced a partnership with AT&T to convey free Wi-Fi to AAdvantage members. We aren’t certain why the corporate is altering course right here.
To that finish, SpaceX and its Starlink service has been making main inroads all through the airline business. The corporate made the same settlement with Alaska Air final yr. United Airways, Southwest Airways, British Airways and Air France all use the corporate’s satellite tv for pc web know-how. Delta and JetBlue have signed on with Amazon’s Leo service.
Starlink is the one to beat right here, nonetheless, with a large fleet of over 10,000 satellites. SpaceX’s connectivity unit, which incorporates Starlink, posted income of $11.4 billion final yr, which makes up 61 % of whole gross sales. SpaceX is making ready to go public, which might occur as early as subsequent month. Starlink’s continued success will probably make for a splashy IPO, although SpaceX itself misplaced almost $5 billion in 2025.
