High-speed internet connectivity will soon be available in other widebody fleets following the ongoing installations.
Qatar Airways is only a few aircraft away from equipping all the Boeing 777s in its fleet with Starlink wi-fi and will become the first to do so in an Airbus A350, the airline said in a statement.
More than 80 per cent of its Boeing 777 fleet has been equipped with the high-speed internet service, it added, claiming more than 6000 flights have already been operated following the upgrade.
Qatar Airways currently possesses 64 aircraft of the said long-range wide-body airliner, which includes 57 300ER models and seven 200LR models.
Completion of the ambitious project, which will allow passengers with complimentary high-speed connectivity, will be an “industry-first”, according to the airline’s statement.
“The airline’s rapid rollout reinforces in-flight innovation leadership and marks one of the fastest and most ambitious Starlink installations in the aviation industry,” it added.
The “ultra-fast” wi-fi with low latency will also be launched in its Airbus A350 fleet in April, which will mark another first, said Qatar Airways’ CEO, Badr Al-Meer.
“In April, we will become the first airline in the world to begin equipping the Airbus A350 with Starlink, taking another bold step in our journey of redefining connectivity in the skies,” he said in a statement.
The airlines became the first ever to equip a Boeing 777 with high-speed internet service in October 2024, which was announced with a video of CEO Al-Meer calling SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk, from a Qatar Airways flight.
Qatar Airways claims most of its Starlink-installed flights offer seamless “door-to-door” connectivity, with speeds reaching up to 500 megabits per second even while cruising at 35,000 feet, suitable for video streaming, gaming, web-browsing and more.
A subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, Starlink’s internet does not require cellular towers or fiber cables, unlike traditional broadband networks. It is powered by constellations of small satellites in low Earth orbit that transmit internet data via radio signal, making it suitable to be used in flights, remote locations, as well as conflict-struck zones.
On their way to the winter camp and the eventual Trophee des Champions finale in Doha, Paris Saint-Germain hosted a live press conference from 35,000 feet using the Starlink technology.
