Elon Musk is having himself a week. Twitter announced it accepted the SpaceX billionaire’s offer to buy the social media giant.
Then, Hawaiian Airlines sealed a deal with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Internet system to provide high-speed WiFi to its passengers.
And rumors are swirling that Delta Air Lines could be one of the next Starlink customers.
Delta apparently kicked the tires on Starlink and tested the company’s technology. Screenrant writes that Starlink speeds reach up to 100Mbps for downloads. That’s plenty to stream video from your favorite providers while you soar through the sky. That’s a great opportunity to use your Amex Platinum streaming credits while you travel! 🙂
Don’t Hold Your Breath
Part of me doubts a Delta and Starlink partnership would come to fruition soon. Delta is currently switching its inflight WiFi from Gogo to Viasat. (The latter provides faster and more reliable service.)
Plus, the Screenrant post also notes that just “a fraction of the entire (Starlink) fleet is in operation currently” and satellite deployment will “continue for quite some time.”
More to the Delta WiFi Saga?
We’ve heard for a while that Delta plans to offer passengers free WiFi. Perhaps this is a step in that direction. In fact, Hawaiian said it plans to offer the Starlink service free to its customers.
While Skylink’s product sounds pretty great, at least Delta is being proactive and offering Viasat. Well, on some single-aisle aircraft. But the less-than-impressive Gogo service is still used on other aircraft. That can’t go away soon enough.
Who knows? By the time Starlink launches enough satellites for consistently good WiFi across several different airline fleets, maybe Mr. Musk will own Viasat. And an airline or five.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
