How Many Airlines Have Installed Starlink Wi-Fi So Far in 2026?

A few weeks ago, Ryanair (FR), the biggest budget carrier in the world, began a public spat with Elon Musk after its CEO claimed that it wouldn’t be adding Starlink in its fleet, citing additional fuel costs. The public jibes between Musk and O’Leary led to “The Idiot Sale”.

According to a piece published in Reuters, Ryanair feels that installing Starlink will lead to “a fuel drag penalty that will cost us about $200 million a year” and feels that around 2030 evolving and that antennas could eventually be fitted into the baggage hold or nose cone of the aircraft, eliminating the extra fuel cost.

While Ryanair is a budget carrier and has no-frills service, legacy carriers have begun active installation or are operating flights equipped with Starlink Wi-Fi, while many others are in advanced rollout phases. Let’s have a look at all the airlines that have installed Starlink Wi-Fi so far in 2026? Let’s find out.

North American Carriers with Starlink

Three carriers in North America have installed Starlink. Let’s have a look at these.

Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian Airlines, which is the first major U.S. carrier to debut Starlink in February on its Airbus A321neo aircraft. The carrier was the first major U.S. airline to introduce Starlink hardware on board and has completed installation across its 24 Airbus A330 aircraft.

Hawaiian also plans to extend Starlink installation to its Boeing 787‑9 aircraft in the future, continuing its aim of broadening high‑quality in‑flight connectivity.

United Airlines

United Airlines (UAL), the carrier with the biggest fleet in the world, became one of the first major U.S. carriers to deploy Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi on operational aircraft. In October 2025, the carrier launched its first flights with SpaceX Starlink Internet on Boeing 737-800 routes.

More than half of United’s regional jets were already fitted with Starlink by late 2025, and the airline planned to equip up to 15 737-800 aircraft per month with the system thereafter. In 2024, United signed a deal with Starlink to provide in-flight internet services across the entirety of its fleet.

Last year, Reuters reported that the carrier would be installing Starlinks in 40 regional jets per month. It was expected that United would be successful in installing Starlink in 300 planes of the type.

Only yesterday United reported that, more than 25% of its daily departures—around 1,200 flights—operate with Starlink Wi-Fi. By the end of 2026, the carrier expects to complete installations on over 500 mainline aircraft, increasing the total number of Starlink-enabled aircraft in its fleet beyond 800.

WestJet

WestJet partnered with Canadian telecom company TELUS to install Starlink satellite Wi‑Fi across its Boeing 737 fleet As of October 2025, WestJet announced that 100 of its 737 aircraft are equipped with Starlink‑powered Wi‑Fi, making it the largest Boeing 737 Starlink‑equipped mainline fleet globally.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines has confirmed that it will roll out Starlink satellite‑based Wi‑Fi across its entire fleet, beginning installations in 2026 and targeting fleet‑wide completion by 2027, offering passengers ultra‑fast, low‑latency connectivity that supports streaming, messaging, gaming and other data‑intensive applications.

Alaska Airlines – Starlink Wi-Fi Overview

Middle East Leaders: Qatar Airways, Emirates, and flyDubai

Qatar Airways

In the Middle East, Qatar Airways (QR), has been a pioneer in scaling Starlink adoption among long-haul carriers. As of January 7, 2026, the airline operates nearly 120 widebody aircraft with Starlink installed, covering more than 58% of its widebody fleet across Airbus A350, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 aircraft.

The carrier completed its Airbus A350 Starlink installation program in eight months and finalized the combined Boeing 777 and A350 rollouts within 14 months, before extending the technology to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Qatar Airways is also the first airline globally to receive Starlink certification for the Boeing 787-8, with three aircraft already operating the system.

Since the service launched in October 2024, Starlink connectivity on Qatar Airways has been used by more than 11 million passengers, including over 10 million passengers in 2025 alone. That figure represents nearly half of all airline passengers worldwide who accessed Starlink Wi-Fi during 2025, underlining the airline’s dominant share of global Starlink usage in commercial aviation.

The system delivers advertised speeds of up to 500 Mbps and is available on long-haul and ultra-long-haul routes across six continents, including the majority of the airline’s services to the Americas and Australia.

Key Starlink deployment metrics at Qatar Airways include:

• Nearly 120 Starlink-equipped widebody aircraft in active service

• Over 58% of the airline’s widebody fleet covered

• Three Boeing 787-8 aircraft currently equipped following global first certification

• More than 11 million passengers connected since launch

• Complimentary, gate-to-gate Wi-Fi availability, subject to local regulatory constraints

Emirates

Emirates will install Starlink system on 232 aircraft and reported that the installation would begin in November 2025 and scheduled to conclude by mid-2027. The carrier said that the first commercial Emirates flight equipped with Starlink will operate on a Boeing 777-300ER immediately following the Dubai Airshow.

Emirates plans to retrofit approximately 14 aircraft per month. Airbus A380 installations are scheduled to this month, marking the introduction of the world’s first Starlink-equipped A380 shortly thereafter. To support high-capacity connectivity across all cabins, the airline will install two Starlink antennae on each Boeing 777 and an industry-first three antennae configuration on the Airbus A380.

Additional deployment and product details include:

• First Starlink-equipped aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER (A6-EPF)

• Fleet-wide rollout aligned with Emirates’ cabin retrofit program.

• Over 6,500 onboard entertainment channels supported alongside Starlink connectivity

• Nearly 220 aircraft included in the airline’s broader refurbishment initiative

• 76 refurbished aircraft already returned to service at the time of announcement

flydubai

At the Dubai Airshow 2025, where India’s HAL Tejas crashed, flydubai designated Starlink as the airline’s inflight connectivity provider.

Key Starlink rollout details for flydubai:

• Installation start: 2026 across the airline’s Boeing 737 fleet.

• Planned installations cover 100 aircraft during 2026, aiming to equip the majority of the fleet.

• Connectivity will support HD streaming, video calls, gaming, and simultaneous multi‑device use.

• Service aims to improve crew efficiency through real‑time data access.

• Coverage will extend to more than 100 destinations served by flydubai.

European Carriers with Starlink

Several European carriers have either completed initial Starlink deployments or are actively rolling them out across portions or all of their fleets:

• airBaltic (BT) was one of the first European airlines to offer free Starlink Wi-Fi on its Airbus A220-300 aircraft, deploying service as early as February 2025.

• International Airlines Group (IAG) has announced plans to equip more than 500 aircraft across its airlines — including British Airways (BA), Aer Lingus (EI), Iberia (IB), LEVEL, and Vueling (VY) — with Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi beginning in 2026.

• Virgin Atlantic (VS) will begin installing Starlink on Boeing 787, Airbus A350, and Airbus A330neo aircraft from 2026, targeting complete rollout by the end of 2027.

• SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK) and WestJet (WS) have initiated phased rollouts, with WestJet having already fitted over 100 aircraft with Starlink and planning full narrowbody installation by the end of 2025.

• British Airways (BA) announced its intention to adopt Starlink in 2026 as the carrier shifts from traditional Ku‑band satellite services to a low‑Earth‑orbit broadband solution. The decision forms part of IAG’s wider Starlink strategy, which aims to equip over 500 aircraft across several airlines, such as Aer Lingus. British Airways is expected to prioritize widebody aircraft such as Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350s for initial installations.

• Air France (AF) officially announced its partnership with Starlink in September 2024, establishing the foundation for a fleet‑wide rollout of high-speed satellite Wi‑Fi. The initial installation phase began in summer 2025, targeting regional aircraft such as Embraer E190s and Airbus A220s, with approximately 30% of the fleet expected to be equipped by late 2025. The airline aims to achieve full fleet coverage by the end of 2026.
• Lufthansa (LH): Under the plan announced in January 2026, Starlink broadband Wi‑Fi will be gradually introduced across the group’s approximately 850 aircraft beginning in the second half of 2026, with full fleet equipage targeted by 2029. The rollout includes all mainline carriers under the group, such as Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Discover Airlines, and Air Dolomiti.

Carriers in Asia and Oceania with Starlink

Air New Zealand

In June 2025, Air New Zealand began real‑world trials of Starlink on two domestic aircraft — an Airbus A320 passenger jet (registered ZK‑OXE) and an ATR regional aircraft. The airline initially announced plans to trial Starlink as early as late 2024, fitting the service on both ATR‑type turboprops and narrow‑body jets for an initial 4‑to‑6‑month evaluation period to assess performance in real‑flight conditions before any broader rollout decisions.

Air New Zealand’s trial represents one of the first instances of Starlink being tested on regional and narrow‑body aircraft in commercial service, including the use on a turboprop type, which is still relatively rare in the industry.

Hanjin Group Airlines: Korean Market Adoption

In December 2025, the Hanjin Group [that recently banned the use of power bank in its flights] comprising Korean Air (KE), Asiana Airlines (OZ), Jin Air (LJ), Air Busan (BX), and Air Seoul (RS), announced coordinated plans to install Starlink across their respective fleets, starting installation and testing in late 2025.

Starlink deployments are expected to begin as early as Q3 2026, with rollout schedules varying by carrier and aircraft type. Korean Air, for example, intends to complete fleetwide installation by the end of 2027, prioritizing long-haul Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

All in All

SpaceX’s expansion into 34 carriers (as reported by Dallas Express) marks another significant milestone for the company, which has deployed more than 9,300 satellites into orbit using its own launch vehicles since introducing Starlink’s commercial internet service.

In the airline market, approaches to onboard internet pricing differ considerably, with some carriers opting to provide Starlink access at no cost to all passengers, while others plan to restrict the service to premium cabins or introduce additional fees.

Unlike conventional in-flight Wi-Fi systems that depend on ground-based cellular networks or legacy satellite platforms, Starlink operates through a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to deliver speeds closer to those experienced with home broadband connections.