Qatar Airways has debuted Starlink’s high-speed satellite internet for its passengers. The first aircraft to offer the free service was a Boeing 777, which flew from Doha, Qatar, to London on Tuesday.
Qatar plans to make the system available on eleven more Boeing 777-300s by the end of 2024 and expand the service to its entire fleet of the model by the end of 2025, a year ahead of schedule.
The Airbus A350 fleet will start receiving high-speed internet in June next year.
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The Starlink network is operated by SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk. The company has the first and largest constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit.
This means it offers high-speed internet all over the world, including over oceans and other remote locations previously inaccessible by traditional cellular or Wi-Fi signals, including jets flying at 35,000 feet.
According to Qatar, Starlink on board will allow its passengers to stay connected with friends and family, stream their favorite entertainment, watch live sports, play online games or work efficiently.
Qatar is not the first airline to offer Starlink to its passengers, as the small JSX Airlines, which operates “semi-private” flights, has been using the technology since 2023 on 30 Embraer ERJ 135 and ERJ 145 jets.
Another airline that has joined Musk’s network is United Airlines, which will have high-speed internet on its fleet starting in 2025.
