While a large number of airlines are introducing Starlink inflight Wi-Fi due to its superior speeds, Delta is countering the trend, and is instead going with Amazon Leo. As I see it, this puts Delta at a major disadvantage, because Amazon Leo will only launch in 2028 at the earliest, and Delta hasn’t even committed to installing the service throughout the fleet.
While we’ve heard a lot of potential reasons why Delta elected not to introduce Starlink, here’s something we haven’t publicly heard before…
Delta CEO comments on Elon Musk at company events
The always in-the-know JonNYC has the scoop on some comments that Delta CEO Ed Bastian reportedly recently made at some company events, specifically addressing questions about Delta not introducing Starlink. Here’s the relevant part about what Bastian reportedly said about Starlink and Elon Musk:
re: starlink, Ed said, “We do not want to be with Elon Musk. Trust me.”
Side note: at a different, earlier event, Ed also said that DL did test with starlink, but did not want to partner with Elon. “If you know his reputation, it’s all true what they say about him.”
Let me of course emphasize that these are comments that were reportedly made, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this firsthand. However, JonNYC tends to have great sources.
Is Bastian really that principled, or what’s going on?
I certainly have my opinions about Musk… I’ll leave it at that. That being said, I’ve been very supportive of airlines introducing Starlink, simply because it’s a massive improvement over what’s otherwise offered, and there’s not a competitor out there that can actually deliver.
The airline industry is hyper competitive, and United plans to have Starlink on all planes by the end of 2027, before Delta even introduces next generation Wi-Fi on a single aircraft. My feelings on Musk aside, I do appreciate being able to stay connected inflight, and I certainly don’t fault airline executives who are looking out for the best interest of their company.
I am a bit curious about what specifically Bastian’s beef is with Musk, in the context of him selecting Starlink for the publicly traded company he runs. Is he somehow just principled and takes issues with, you know, *gestures broadly*? Because Bastian has had quite some flattering things to say about certain other people, so this seems like an odd point at which to take some sort of a moral stand.
Or was there some aspect of the negotiations between Delta and Starlink that just left a bad taste in Bastian’s mouth? Or is Bastian concerned about the long term viability of Starlink, for some reason? Or is Bastian at this point just trying to save face, given how Musk publicly got involved in Delta’s decision not to introduce Starlink?
When I think of Bastian, the “p” word that typically comes to mind is “premium,” and not “principled.” So I’m not sure what to make of this…
Bottom line
Delta CEO Ed Bastian has reportedly partly been justifying the company’s decision not to introduce Starlink based on Musk’s behavior, and not wanting to be associated with him. On the surface, I’m almost impressed by how principled Bastian reportedly is, but I feel like he might just be deflecting here, after a deal with Starlink might’ve fallen through for other reasons.
What do you make of Bastian’s alleged comments about Musk?
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