SpaceX has nearly doubled its backlog of Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi orders following a recent agreement with United Airlines, a company director stated on Tuesday. This development brings the total number of aircraft under contract to around 2,500. Nick Galano, SpaceX’s director of Starlink aviation sales and partnerships, shared this information at the World Space Business Week conference in Paris, emphasizing the expansion from a startup phase to a growing global experience for passengers and airlines.
Starlink, the satellite internet service branch of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is making significant strides in the in-flight connectivity (IFC) market. Last week, United Airlines announced plans to outfit its fleet of over 1,000 planes with Starlink’s Wi-Fi service at no charge to customers.
The United Airlines agreement is Starlink’s most substantial IFC deal to date. This partnership will replace United’s current Wi-Fi providers, including Viasat, Panasonic, Thales, and Gogo, as Starlink installations proceed over the next several years.
SpaceX has previously initiated in-flight Wi-Fi deals with other airlines, including Hawaiian Airlines, Qatar Airways, Japan’s Zipair, Latvia’s airBaltic, and semi-private charter airline JSX. Since its launch in 2020, SpaceX has expanded the Starlink network and its product offerings, initially targeting consumers and now extending into enterprise services like aviation and maritime.
Currently, there are approximately 6,400 Starlink satellites in orbit, servicing over 3 million customers across 100 countries. Galano highlighted the significant capacity provided by Starlink’s satellite constellation, noting it delivers over 300 terabits per second, surpassing legacy systems by a factor of over 100. SpaceX continues to boost this capacity, with new Starlink satellites being launched about every three days on average this year.
SpaceX is also working to reduce the installation time for new antennas on aircraft, a process known as retrofitting. Galano stated efforts to simplify these installations, aiming to complete them in less than a day, a goal already achieved with Hawaiian Airlines and JSX’s fleets.
In comparison, Delta Air Lines’ satellite IFC retrofits, which also involve replacing existing systems, take about three days on average. Delta, which relies on Viasat for in-flight service, reported that offering free Wi-Fi to loyalty program members has been highly beneficial, adding 3 million new SkyMiles members since implementing the service.
— This article includes contributions from CNBC’s Leslie Josephs.
