The corporate has already gained contracts with United, Southwest and different carriers.
SpaceX has signed a contract to offer Starlink satellite tv for pc Wi-Fi to American Airways flights, according to 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 online was once sluggish as molasses whereas traversing the sky, however satellite tv for pc protection has allowed speeds to extend. This comes only one yr after American announced a partnership with AT&T to carry free Wi-Fi to AAdvantage members. We aren’t positive why the corporate is altering course right here.
To that finish, SpaceX and its Starlink service has been making major inroads all through the airline business. The corporate made an identical settlement with Alaska Air last year. 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 last year, which makes up 61 p.c of whole gross sales. SpaceX is preparing to go public, which might occur as early as subsequent month. Starlink’s continued success will doubtless make for a splashy IPO, although SpaceX itself lost nearly $5 billion in 2025.
