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?
I flew MIA-DOH-AKL last month & I found the service available most of the time (that I was awake). And it was as fast as or better than my GoogleFiber home WiFi! Terrific product, puts all the others to shame. Starlink rules. (Elon is like the 21st century Edison).
QR has had starlink WiFi for a while, but for large swathes of flight like over Russia or India the wifi doesn’t work. So it’s not that great.
It's too bad that space is so tight on planes, other than a phone or tablet it's hard to get actual work done on a laptop
Well, that's not really "faster than home" for me but it is better than their competition.
@Ben L you can still use a VPN with Starlink
I don't support nazis.
No matter the product
If you think that everyone who politically disagrees with you is a Nazi, maybe you're the problem.
If you presume that Cal's statement about nazis applies to "everyone who politically disagrees with (Cal)", then you're part of the problem. If people don't want to be called nazis, then they should stop doing exactly what nazis do.
yeah, i mean i've found it can be spotty at times but, like most SV loss leaders, it'll generally stand out above the competition until it won't - you've got to give it this: the catastrophic impacts of the poor engineering are at least pretty tightly externalized for this line of business, unlike e.g. the bomb cars
@Ben. No one cares if you’re a fan of the founder. I’m realizing that you, like the rest of the world, like to focus on politics too much, so I scan vs read your content now.
Starlink is a game changer.
People care even less for what you have to say, NI. It's Ben's blog and if he wants to call out Elon Musk as the world's biggest asshole then that's his prerogative.
Recently flew EK from CPT-BRU via DXB and lucked out on flying the same 777-300ER tail twice and it had Starlink. Biggest difference with EK is that it didn’t require any sign in. Quick and easy and fast! Game changer for sure.
Same with Qatar, super nice gate-to-gate and no sign in
And to my understanding, all Starlink contracts say the offering to the end user has to be free
For UA, you can check whether your flight route has Star link here: https://unitedstarlinktracker.com/
Last year, I flew on a Qatar Airways flight equipped with Starlink. I do not usually use onboard Wi-Fi, as I value the chance to disconnect, but while the aircraft was taxiing I wanted to download some entertainment. Being able to connect instantly, without any login process, and quickly download about an hour’s worth of content was genuinely impressive.
That said, the service also highlighted an inevitable downside. One German passenger seemed particularly pleased to...
Last year, I flew on a Qatar Airways flight equipped with Starlink. I do not usually use onboard Wi-Fi, as I value the chance to disconnect, but while the aircraft was taxiing I wanted to download some entertainment. Being able to connect instantly, without any login process, and quickly download about an hour’s worth of content was genuinely impressive.
That said, the service also highlighted an inevitable downside. One German passenger seemed particularly pleased to be able to make audio calls on board, but he was speaking so loudly that, despite being very conflict-averse, I had to ask him to lower his voice because sleep would otherwise have been impossible. If airlines will offer this kind of connectivity, passengers need to understand basic etiquette, and airlines and crews need to communicate - and enforce - clear limits on acceptable behavior.
There are already so many flights in US. Equipping starlink, even short haul regional flights like IAD to CVG.
The article would've been fine without mentioning Musk. No need to justify why someone likes (or dislikes) Tesla and Starlink.
You're exactly right. Ben's government-issued license for reporting in this space should be revoked. This is not the space for Ben or anyone else to offer their opinions or express their preferences. We should find only current administration-authorized facts here.
Yep, I had it on AF in December and it's fantastic - especially being available gate to gate too!
Get ready to listen to people’s TikTok and IG reels feeds for 3 hours. Bring that metro experience to the skies baby!
Luckily, I haven’t had this problem yet and I’ve flown on HA’s Starlink-equipped planes numerous times. Hope it stays nice and civil onboard.
Just hoping influencers DON’T post videos live as well.
This is great for those who use it, but I personally view a flight as the PERFECT opportunity to DISCONNECT from the outside world for a few hours. Its such a nice reset.
I flew AF CDG to IAH this past January and did a video call ( whatsapp) for about one and a half hour and the quality of video and voice was incredible. Best of all it was free!!
Did your neighbors enjoy your 1.5 hour conversation?
I would have been very displeased. It's even worse than some idiot guffawing at a comedic movie for two hours.
Nothing is free. Elon Musk will happily warehouse everyone's data for "free".
^ This guy gets it.
Nothing is free. Deep wisdom, bro.
Yes, starlink is fast and reliable on Air France. It was nice to also use what's app for messages. I agree that it is a game changer, especially when it is free and easy to use. Mixed in with the spacious A350, this is a great combination.
"Computer heads" are ridiculous , and never read actual books .
Starlink was great in my experience too on Hawaiian A330 OGG-LAX. Blazing fast the whole way across the ocean!
How could you have missed the ocean ?
Same. Great speeds across its network whether to Japan, west coast, or NYC. Looking forward to Starlink on the 787 and on AS 737s.
Is it from gate to gate? Or do they only turn it on at cruising altitude?
It's gate to gate on United (Express).
Don't know about Air France, but on United it's gate to gate
Yep, with AF too
It’s innovative tbh. Honestly, the only thing that bothers me is when others around me start watching videos/TikTok’s without their headphones on, while I’m trying to get some shut eye. So annoying.
It’s just so sad that the company and its owner are so f*cking unethical. I love good Wi-Fi just as much as anyone else, but I cannot in good conscience support a company with such a racist, anti-democratic, and greedy owner.
I'm sure you are a dumbacrat, so you have to admit Elon has done more for the the environment than any of your fellow dumbacrats. I'm sure you are card carrying member of Sierra Club, so you should appreciate this.
Good Lord, some of you need to seek professional counseling, you are suffering from acute Musk Derangement Syndrome
Turn off FoxNews and think for yourself.
@Gene The irony is strong on this one. Imagine hating someone because media tells you to do so.
I love Joe Biden (because MSNNC told me to.)
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
Anything to contribute to the conversation that isn't an immature insult, Sel?
Ben L. Is 100% correct. Are you so naive as to not realize that the sole purpose of DOGE was to steal all of the federal governments' data?
…. 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.
Ronnie, seriously now! We both know that Ben, himself, is not the data harvesting concern, it is those who host his website. They are the real fly in the ointment, yes?
You do understand how the internet works today? Sites and data are nearly all monetised. It’s not the 90s anymore.
Yes, the distinguished Englishman, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the WWW, gave the data parasites of this world the opportunity to monetise our communications. The philanthropic activities of a few are now being exploited by the unscrupulous masses.
Ignorance is now the bliss of many …. :-)
@Ben L. three letters: V P N
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?