American Airlines is getting Starlink Wi-Fi

American says the deployment will begin in the first quarter of 2027 and will include more than 500 aircraft, including its new A321XLR and A321neo aircraft from Airbus. Starlink will join Viastat and SES (formerly Intelstat) among the airline’s Wi-Fi providers.

American is the latest airline 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 I made a deal with Amazon Leo To connect to Wi-Fi.

Airlines are scrambling to strike deals with satellite internet providers in hopes of improving the traditional poor connectivity offerings on flights. Wi-Fi that relies on low-Earth orbit satellites, such as Starlink, tends to offer lower latency thanks to the shorter distance the signal has to travel compared to satellites in geostationary orbit. Viasat uses geostationary satellites, while SES uses multi-orbit, low-orbit, and geostationary satellites.

“As a premium global airline, we are constantly looking for global partners like Starlink to deliver what our customers need and want,” Heather Garboden, chief customer officer at American Airlines, said in a statement. “The addition of Starlink strengthens American’s position as a leader in keeping passengers connected in-flight.”

SpaceX’s recent IPO It revealed that Starlink is the company’s financial engine, generating about $11 billion in annual revenue and serving as its only consistently profitable division. In filingSpaceX says the global Starlink network is designed to eliminate “dead zones” and boost performance on high-latitude routes “that can be a challenge for traditional service providers.”

But while sourcing video and Spotify content can help pass the time, nothing compares to just being able to use the internet on your own device.