One in-flight amenity is quickly becoming a must-have for travelers: free, high-speed Wi-Fi.
The complimentary perk is gaining popularity with fliers as a growing number of airlines have started to launch agreements with Starlink or Amazon’s Leo to add ultra-fast connectivity across their fleets.
The two companies have become the industry’s network providers of choice, with competition for airline contracts heating up between Starlink and Leo.
Amazon’s Leo has been gaining traction, with notable agreements with major airlines in the United States, including Delta and JetBlue. Those services are set to launch in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
But so far, Starlink has inked dozens of agreements with airlines around the globe. Starlink’s network is revolutionizing in-flight Wi-Fi by offering the ability to maintain a connection during all phases of flight with speeds that are comparable to networks on the ground.
This allows fliers to access services never before possible on a plane, like streaming shows, movies, and music, play games with no lag, as well as work and edit documents in real time.
“For carriers, the question is no longer ‘Wi-Fi or no Wi-Fi’, but how to build a connectivity strategy aligned with brand identity, fleet realities, and commercial goals,” says a report from in-flight entertainment provider Moment, which found that 13% of legacy airlines were offering free Wi-Fi as of late 2025.
American Airlines is the latest U.S. carrier to announce an agreement with Starlink to add the company’s Wi-Fi across its fleet, with the first equipped planes rolling out in the first quarter of 2027.
Southwest just announced that its first Starlink-equipped plane, a Boeing 737-800, will begin service by the end of June. The carrier plans to launch the network across more than 300 of its planes by the end of 2026.
United was one of the first U.S. carriers to launch free in-flight Wi-Fi with Starlink, with the service quickly rolling out across both its regional and mainline fleets beginning in 2025.
Looking ahead, there will likely be more airlines to announce free, high-speed connection, as it is becoming a non-negotiable for many travelers. According to a Viasat survey from 2024, nearly 80% of passengers now consider in-flight Wi-Fi “essential to their journey.”
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