In October 2023, Qatar Airways made an exciting announcement when it comes to inflight Wi-Fi, as the oneworld carrier revealed it would introduce Starlink connectivity. In October 2024, we saw the first jet equipped with this service.
The airline has now revealed the latest details regarding the rollout of this service, as very impressive progress has been made over the past 15 months… including the first Dreamliners now flying with Starlink (which also has positive implications for other airlines)!
Qatar Airways offering free high speed Wi-Fi
Qatar Airways is in the process of introducing free Starlink Wi-Fi, making this one of the largest airlines in the world to collaborate with SpaceX on Wi-Fi. Not only does Starlink offer speeds of up to 500 megabits per second for gaming, VPN access, sports streaming, and more, but Qatar Airways is offering this Wi-Fi on a complimentary basis, with one-click access.
Qatar Airways is one of several airlines that’s working with Starlink on inflight connectivity, with other airlines including airBaltic, Air France, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Korean Air, SAS, United, Virgin Atlantic, and WestJet.
In October 2024, Qatar Airways’ first aircraft was equipped with the upgraded inflight connectivity, and the press release was even uploaded from 35,000 feet, using the Starlink inflight Wi-Fi. Below is a video call that Qatar Airways’ former CEO made with Elon Musk during this first flight, on October 22, 2024.
For context, Qatar Airways’ fleet is otherwise primarily outfitted with Inmarsat’s GX aviation technology, which the airline refers to as “Super Wi-Fi.” This typically costs $10 for a flight, with no data caps. Some of Qatar Airways’ other aircraft have OnAir Wi-Fi, which is quite slow.
Qatar Airways’ Starlink Wi-Fi rollout schedule
Qatar Airways has provided an updated status report on the rollout of free Starlink Wi-Fi, and it’s great news:
- Qatar Airways has finished installing Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet of Boeing 777s, meaning that 60+ of these jets now have the service; these were the first planes to be reconfigured
- Qatar Airways has finished installing Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet of Airbus A350s, meaning that 60+ of these jets now have the service; this installation program just wrapped up
- Now Qatar Airways is installing Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet of Boeing 787s; so far three planes have been equipped with this service, and you can expect a fast rollout to continue
At this point, Qatar Airways has Starlink Wi-Fi on 60% of its wide body fleet, and progress continues to be made at a fast pace. Currently it’s taking the airline around 10 hours per aircraft to install Starlink, so that’s pretty impressive.
It’s especially great to see that Qatar Airways has started Starlink installation on 787s. The 787’s composite fuselage makes the Starlink installation more complicated than on other airlines, which is why we hadn’t seen any airline install the service on this plane until recently. Hopefully with Qatar Airways doing this, it paves the way for other airlines to do the same.
It remains to be seen if/when the carrier’s other aircraft types, including the A330 and A380, will start to get Starlink. I suspect the focus is now on the 787, and once that’s complete, we’ll find out which aircraft type is next. I wouldn’t be surprised if the A330s don’t get it at all, since they’re supposed to be retired sooner rather than later.
Bottom line
Qatar Airways is making great progress with installing Starlink Wi-Fi. Not only are we starting to see Starlink Wi-Fi available on Qatar Airways on a widespread basis, but it’s also complimentary. This is a very nice competitive advantage for Qatar Airways.
The carrier now has Starlink Wi-Fi on all of its 777s and A350s, covering around 60% of the wide body fleet. Now we’re seeing the airline install Starlink on 787s, with the first three planes already having the service.
What do you make of Qatar Airways introducing free Starlink Wi-Fi?
