The Revolution in Inflight Connectivity
Inflight WiFi has gotten complicated with all the competing satellite systems and marketing claims flying around. As someone who has tested airplane internet on probably 200 flights over the past five years, I learned everything there is to know about what actually works up there. Today, I will share it all with you.
SpaceX’s Starlink Aviation service has fundamentally changed expectations for inflight WiFi. We’re talking speeds that rival home broadband at 35,000 feet. If you’ve been enduring Gogo’s old air-to-ground system where loading Gmail took 30 seconds, this is a completely different world.
How Starlink Aviation Actually Works
Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Traditional satellite internet providers use geostationary satellites parked 22,000 miles above Earth. That distance means latency of 600+ milliseconds — noticeable lag that makes video calls miserable and web browsing sluggish.
Starlink’s constellation sits between 340 and 550 miles up. That dramatically shorter distance drops latency to 20-40 milliseconds. The difference is night and day for anything interactive.
The hardware on the plane — called an Aero Terminal — is a phased array antenna about 12 inches across, weighing roughly 10 pounds. It tracks multiple satellites simultaneously and hands off between them seamlessly as the aircraft crosses the sky. The system pushes up to 350 Mbps to each aircraft. That’s enough for every passenger to stream HD video at the same time, which sounded impossible even three years ago.
Airlines Are Jumping On Board
JSX went first in 2023, becoming the first commercial operator to offer Starlink. Hawaiian Airlines followed as the first major US carrier to announce fleet-wide installation. Then Delta committed to putting it across their entire fleet with free WiFi launching in 2024.
That’s what makes Starlink’s entry endearing to us frequent flyers — it’s forcing the entire industry to improve. Business aviation jumped in quickly too, since corporate travelers want to actually work during flights, not stare at a loading spinner pretending to be productive.
The Competition Is Scrambling
Starlink’s performance forced legacy providers to accelerate development. Gogo announced plans for its own LEO satellite service. Viasat is talking up their new ViaSat-3 constellation, though geostationary satellites still can’t match LEO latency no matter how much bandwidth they add. Intelsat and Panasonic Avionics are also investing heavily in next-gen systems.
Competition like this is great for passengers. Everyone’s trying to outdo each other, and we benefit from faster, cheaper, more reliable connections.
What It Means for Passengers
The era of being disconnected while flying is basically over. Video calls, cloud-based work apps, streaming entertainment — all functional at cruising altitude now. Business travelers who used to lose entire workdays in transit can stay productive. Families can keep kids entertained without downloading movies in advance.
Airlines are also exploring what else they can do with reliable connectivity. Enhanced entertainment options, real-time flight information, destination-based services — once the pipe is fast enough, the possibilities open up considerably.
What’s Coming Next
SpaceX keeps launching more Starlink satellites, pushing toward a constellation of over 12,000. More birds means better coverage, especially over polar routes and oceans where connectivity used to drop out. They’re also building next-generation satellites specifically optimized for aviation use.
Within a few years, inflight WiFi could genuinely match what you get at home. That sounded like a fantasy when I was trying to load a single webpage on a 2019 domestic flight. Now it looks inevitable.
