American Airlines to Install Starlink on More Than 500 Planes

American Airlines plans to outfit more than 500 of its narrow-body aircraft with Starlink for in-flight Wi-Fi. The decision hands another win to SpaceX, whose service has already won contracts with United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others.

The airline announced it would install Starlink on about 500 of its narrow-body Airbus planes, like the A321neo, starting early next year. American was evaluating Starlink and Amazon Leo for the service as recently as March.

An American spokesman said the carrier doesn’t have immediate plans to change providers on its Boeing fleet, which uses a mix of Viasat and Panasonic. The Boeing planes will continue with their existing in-flight Wi-Fi setups.

American in January rolled out free in-flight Wi-Fi for members of its frequent flyer program. This followed similar offerings from United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and others.

Delta in March said it would use Amazon Leo for in-flight Wi-Fi for hundreds of jets starting in 2028. United, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines have selected Starlink. Alaska Airlines merged with Hawaiian Airlines in 2024.

Carriers are battling for higher-spending customers by upgrading once-slow, expensive and clunky in-flight internet to higher speeds. They have also been weighing other revenue streams, like personalized ads for travelers.

SpaceX is preparing to go public in what’s likely to be a record IPO next month. Its connectivity unit, which includes Starlink, posted revenue of $11.39 billion last year, making up 61% of total sales, according to a filing for its initial public offering earlier this month.