American Airlines picks SpaceX’s Starlink for in-flight Wi-Fi

American Airlines The company, which plans to equip more than 500 of its narrow-body aircraft with Starlink, plans to hand over another victory to Elon Musk’s SpaceX unit, which works with major carriers on in-flight Wi-Fi.

The American was evaluating Starlink and Amazon Leo for service as soon as March.

The airline announced Tuesday that it will install Starlink on approximately 500 narrow-body Airbus aircraft, such as the A321neo, starting early next year. American spokesman says airline has no immediate plans to change providers Boeing’s fleet using a mixture viasat and Panasonic.

American rolled out free inflight Wi-Fi for frequent flyer program members in January. United Airlines, Delta Airlines et al.

Delta announced in March that it would use Amazon Leo for in-flight Wi-Fi on hundreds of jets starting in 2028. united, Southwest Airlines And Alaska AirlinesStarlink, which merged with Hawaiian Airlines in 2024, chose Starlink.

Carriers are fighting for higher-spending customers, including upgrading inflight internet to faster speeds when it was once slow, expensive and cumbersome. They are also considering other revenue streams, such as personalized ads for travelers.

Meanwhile, SpaceX is preparing to go public next month in what is likely to be a record IPO. In its IPO filing earlier this month, SpaceX said its connectivity unit, which includes Starlink, generated $11.39 billion in revenue last year, accounting for 61% of total sales.