Budget UK airline easyJet to deploy Starlink’s LEO satellite broadband service

The UK’s largest airline, easyJet, has perhaps somewhat surprisingly announced that it will soon start offering fast onboard Wi-Fi connectivity “for the very first time” by harnessing Starlink’s (SpaceX) mega constellation of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

At present Starlink has an overall total of c.11,160 satellites in orbit for both broadband and mobile services – mostly at altitudes of between c.340-550km. Residential users in the UK pay from £40 a month for their 100Mbps unlimited data plan, which promises uploads of c.15-35Mbps and low latency connectivity (c.20ms). But at present you can only buy their Direct to Cell (DtC) mobile service in the UK via O2 Satellite for £3 extra per month.

However, until now Starlink and other satellite services have tended to be primarily only deployed across long-distance routes or premium airlines, which is because the added costs of introducing such a system often don’t make as much sense for budget airlines that specialise in shorter hops. But easyJet intend to buck that trend and offer the new service to help differentiate themselves from the crowd of low-cost operators.

Starlink will be deployed from the first half of 2027 across the airline’s modern A320, A320neo and A321neo fleet, with the roll-out expected to be completed by early 2028. The deployment aims to transform the onboard experience for customers, allowing them to stream, game and browse on their own devices at good broadband speeds.

Kenton Jarvis, CEO at easyJet, said:

“In an increasingly digital world, staying connected matters more than ever to many of our customers, whether that’s holidaymakers looking to unwind with inflight entertainment, or our business customers keeping up to speed with what’s happening on the ground.

Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA and partnering with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed internet connectivity onboard for the first time will not only further enhance the experience we provide millions of customers, but means we are offering more of the options both business and leisure travellers want when they choose who they fly with.

Giving customers the opportunity to get online in the air will mean even greater choice and convenience when you fly with easyJet. Ultimately, it’s yet another way we’re making travel easy.”

Customers wanting to keep up to date with their journey will also now be able to access useful information while in the air, from checking their flight status through the easyJet app and website to looking up information about their destination, such as local weather, transport or tourism information. Enhancing the experience for 100 million passengers who already choose to fly with the airline each year.

The move puts pressure on arch rival Ryanair, which has previously had some very public spats with Elon Musk over Starlink’s costs and viability in the budget travel sector. Despite this, Ryanair’s Finance Chief did start the year by indicating that the operator had not closed the door on deploying the service or another satellite-based alternative for in-flight use.

Overall, it’s positive news for easyJet, albeit with the caveat that their announcement makes no mention of how much customers will need to pay, if anything, to access the service. The larger airlines often tend to offer complimentary access as part of their ticket price, but that model isn’t such a good fit for a budget airline and so we wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an extra charge. Credits to Matthew for the news tip.