The Wifi Wars, Part 2
Here comes Elon
Our first installment on airline connectivity was a look back, but it’s time to live in the now.
And the now belongs to Starlink.
When we last left things, my friends at Viasat had established themselves as the dominant player in the US airline market and were rapidly growing their presence abroad. However, the satellite business is a big boy business, and when the first Viasat-3 satellite malfunctioned on deployment back in 2023, that was a huge setback for the folks in Carlsbad.1
Nevertheless, it’s hard to say that even a fully functioning launch of Viasat-3 would have stopped what was coming. Everyone in the airline sector knew that Starlink was going to enter the market, it was just a matter of when.
Starlink launched inflight service on quasi-private JetSuite X in 2023. Since then, it has been signing up customers left and right, most notably United here in the US. Even today while writing this, a press release went out announcing that Korean Air, Asiana, and their partner airlines would be installing Starlink.2
With global coverage driven by over 7,500 satellites, Starlink is in a dominant technological position. Moreover, the service matches the hype. I have been lucky enough to use Starlink on several recent United flights and there are three things that stand out to me.
It’s Easy
The only requirement to access the free Starlink wifi is to be a Mileage Plus member.3 If you’ve already checked that box, then the authentication process is super seamless once you connect to the network. There are no additional URL’s to visit or credit card payment screens to navigate. You don't have to spy on the guy across the aisle to figure out how he’s connecting and you’re not.
Just a couple quick screens and you’re ready to get on the ‘gram. Even better, it’s not just passengers who benefit from this. Flight attendants no longer have to cosplay as IT Support, a role which very few of them enjoyed.4
It’s Fast
Yes, I am being Captain Obvious, but it’s also something you can’t take for granted. Who amongst us frequent travelers hasn’t painfully waited for a file to upload even on a “high-speed” inflight connection. The speeds I clocked on Starlink were not just impressive, they were consistent. I could quickly fob off the latest changes on that Word doc to someone else and enjoy my Stroopwaffel.5
You can go ahead and download the new iOS software at these speeds. (Taken somewhere over Indiana.) It’s Free
Again, another no-brainer. But trust me, free wifi wasn’t a glimmer in any airline’s eye a few year ago. Airlines hate to give away things for free, let alone a service with serious costs attached.
Now, this free offer isn’t being done out of the kindness of any carrier’s heart. Nearly every Starlink-equipped airline will require passengers to be a member of their loyalty program to access free internet. And that loyalty program will “partner” with one of more brands to offer that free connection. (What’s up T-Mobile?) In return, that partner will get access to information about you. But it’s 2025, who doesn’t have that info already?6
Plus, don’t you just want to watch the game tonight?
It’s important to acknowledge that Viasat and other providers are not just lying down in this latest game of leapfrog. For example, Viasat is still the provider for American and Delta, which means there are hundreds of planes in the air right now featuring their very capable platform. Their service will continue to improve as their latest Viasat-3 satellite launched successfully last month.
And let’s not forget, this game never ends. Just a few months ago Jetblue announced its partnership with Amazon Leo, formerly known as Kuiper.7 While admittedly way behind Starlink in terms of scale, who knows if they’ll become the next new thing.
Or maybe not. It’s a big boy business.
Notes
Viasat has a beautiful campus in Carlsbad, CA that features among other things, a volleyball court, a twisty slide from the second floor to the lobby, and a bunch of really, really smart people running around in polo shirts
Back in 2019 I was in a meeting at Korean Air and their team was lamenting the lack of wifi on their A380’s, and it’s still a problem to this day — Starlink can’t come soon enough on those ICN-LAX workhorses
Mileage Plus member since 1991 . . . once again, dating myself
I’m pretty sure none of them enjoyed it, but don’t want to be unfair to the one flight attendant who did like helping people with their IP address settings
I still prefer Biscoffs, but kudos to UA for giving DL a run for their money in the “signature mass-distributed onboard snack” game
No one on this blog is trying to be flippant about personal data, but this model is what makes it all free to passengers; also it’s not the only “free” service that works this way