We just flew Air France business class from Miami (MIA) to Paris (CDG) to Geneva (GVA). While the most exciting thing about the experience was how well behaved our son was, there was another noteworthy aspect to the journey, which was a first-time experience for me.
In this post:
I finally experienced Starlink Wi-Fi onboard a flight!
In recent times, we’ve seen an increasing number of airlines announce plans to introduce Starlink Wi-Fi. As you’d expect, the catch is that the rollout takes some time. Admittedly a good number of airlines do now have Starlink Wi-Fi on a widespread basis, though oddly, I hadn’t actually experienced it… until now.
While flying from Paris to Geneva on an Air France Airbus A220-300, I connected to the inflight Wi-Fi. I knew that Air France was starting to install Starlink on some planes (including A220s), though I didn’t think I’d get lucky.
As I opened up the portal, I was given the option to connect to Wi-Fi by signing in with my Flying Blue account information.
After logging on, I was brought to a screen indicating that I was connected to Starlink. What a lucky coincidence (or maybe I’ve just been unlucky that I haven’t experienced it until now!).
So, how good were the Starlink inflight Wi-Fi speeds?
A Paris to Geneva flight is hardly long enough to fully appreciate the upside of Starlink, but I did briefly use it. I did a speed test, and as you can see, the speeds were excellent.
While services like Viasat offer good Wi-Fi speeds when taking into account that you’re on a plane, it was really a game changer to have Wi-Fi that was as fast as at home, where you felt like you weren’t at all limited. And of course that’s only half of the equation — the other thing is that Starlink is consistently free for passengers, so having fast and free connectivity is simply awesome.
There’s not really much more I can say about this, other than that I thought it was absolutely incredible, and I think this is a boost to the passenger experience.
Admittedly the benefit was limited on a short flight like this, but on a long daytime flight, the existence of Starlink Wi-Fi might be the deciding factor for me in picking an airline. While I’m the furthest thing from an Elon Musk fan, I also have to be balanced, and say that this is a great service, and ultimately passengers benefit from this.
Bottom line
I realize I’m late to the party, but I finally had a flight with Starlink Wi-Fi, and it was every bit as good as expected. Of course it’s nice that it’s so fast, but beyond that, it’s also lovely that it’s complimentary. Having Wi-Fi on an aircraft that’s comparable to what you’d expect on the ground really changes entertainment and productivity for those flying.
If you’ve had a flight with Starlink, what was your experience like?
It’s a game changer! So glad you finally got to try it. I’ve had a few united regional flights the last few months on it. Regularly getting 500 down, 100 up. It’s awesome.
Musk already stole enough of my data from the federal government last year. No way I'm ever going to voluntarily pass more of it through his company's servers. Besides, I still appreciate treating a flight as an opportunity to disconnect from the world.
1. You’re delusional
2. You’re also a dingus - Starlink supports VPNs
…. and just how much data do you think Ben’s website has “Stole” from you over the years?
@Aero, I think everyone is less worried about what Ben will do with our data vs Elon.
Have to agree, Starlink is the stuff. Been noticing it on more and more carriers and even had it on an Alaska E175 out of San Diego last week. It felt like being connected at home, almost.
The biggest game changer is the Starlink on Norwegian Cruises. It has made my monthly cruises fantastic.
I’ve had Starlink on planes twice (on HA and QR) and agree it’s a game changer. Was streaming football games and Netflix on my HA flight and it was crystal clear the entire time. Have not been able to do that with any of the other services. I’ll be flying an AF Airbus 220 next month, though if it has Starlink I won’t get much use out of it (as it’s a 4am flight).
Looking forward to seeing more planes get Starlink installed.
How did it compare to Starlink on a slower moving vessel, say a Ritz cruise?
And I get 200+ on UA. Wondering if it has to do with location, contract, or just the time you happened to run a speed test.
You forgot to mention Elon offered to pay TSA salaries…
"You forgot to mention Elon offered to pay TSA salaries…"
It wasn't forgotten.
It wasn't mentioned because it was a bullshit "offer" and everyone knows it.
Only 100 Mbps? I get >250 Mbps consistently on QR.
Who needs more? ….
The speeds on the U.S. carriers are?