Southwest Airlines has announced the rollout of Starlink Wi-Fi across its fleet and network. The integration of the SpaceX system will begin in summer 2026 and be complete on 300 aircraft by the end of the year, the airline said, providing free connectivity for Southwest loyalty flyers.
“Free Wi-Fi has been a huge hit with our Rapid Rewards Members, and we know our Customers expect seamless connectivity across all their devices when they travel,” said Tony Roach, Executive Vice President, Chief Customer & Brand Officer at Southwest Airlines. Southwest’s Wi-Fi is also available to non-loyalty customers, currently for a fee of $8 per device.
Southwest’s current offer can be as slow as 20 megabits per second (Mbps), reaching 150 Mbps at best. But the Elon Musk-owned constellation of 9,000 satellites in low Earth orbit boasts some of the fastest speeds for Wi-Fi on the go, up to 250 Mbps, providing almost seamless streaming and gaming.
“Starlink delivers that at-home experience in the air, giving Customers the ability to stream their favorite shows from any platform, watch live sports, download music, play games, work, and connect with loved ones from takeoff to landing,” Roach said.
Jason Fritch, Vice President of Starlink Enterprise Sales at SpaceX, also emphasised the speed of the company’s network. “We’re thrilled to deliver a connectivity experience to Southwest Airlines and its Customers that really is similar, if not better, than what you can experience in your own home. Starlink is the future of connected travel, making every journey faster, smoother, and infinitely more enjoyable,” Fritch said.
Southwest joins a growing stable of carriers signed up to Starlink’s system. Lufthansa Group status customers and Travel ID users, regardless of travel class, will begin to benefit from Starlink from mid-2026 onwards, with fleet coverage slated for 2029. All the group airlines are included in the strategy: Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Discover Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Lufthansa, and SWISS.
In addition, Emirates is fitting Starlink antennae to its Boeing 777s, while the A380S will receive three, an industry-first, to provide high capacity and strong coverage across all cabin classes, which will be offered for free where available. Completion is due by mid-2027.
Other airlines collaborating with Starlink are American Airlines, British Airways, Air France, Qatar Airways, Scandinavian Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic. But one carrier not likely to be signing a contract with Starlink any time soon is Ryanair, whose CEO, Michael O’Leary, recently traded insults with Musk over the extra fuel costs incurred due to Starlink equipment’s drag on the exterior of aircraft. In typical Ryanair style, O’Leary turned the public spat into free publicity, creating a “Big Idiot Sale” of Ryanair tickets off the back of the attention generated.
