Frontier Airlines will bring Starlink’s inflight internet service to its fleet, part of a 1,000+ aircraft, multi-airline deal confirmed Tuesday. The first fitted aircraft is expected to enter service in early 2027.
The selection process appears to have been driven by Indigo Partners, covering the full fleet of its airline portfolio. Wizz Air previously confirmed its intentions to fly with Starlink on board. This announcement also adds Volaris (Mexico), JetSMART (South America), and Cebu Pacific (Philippines) to the mix.
Alongside the introduction of First Class seating and enhancements to our loyalty program, [adding Starlink is] another example of how we’re evolving the travel experience while staying true to our commitment to offering the lowest fares.
– Jimmy Dempsey, Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Airlines
Frontier also notes it will be “the first US airline to offer passengers access to Starlink’s high-speed internet through a new system managed directly by Starlink.” The company would not, however, comment on pricing for the service on board. In response to a direct question on that topic a company spokesperson replied, “More to come on that.”
A service where some passengers pay is new territory for SpaceX. The company insisted for years that delivering connectivity for free to passengers was not just the best passenger experience, but the only one it would support. That clearly changed in recent months, however. The Wizz Air news in June notably lacked mention of free service. Copa’s activation earlier this month, however, was the official tipping point. That implementation is complimentary for top elites and Starlink Home/Roam subscribers, but most passengers will pay for a connection.
The Indigo Partners family of carriers appear to be following the Copa path. And the specific callout of Frontier being the first US airline allows that others are already doing it or will be prior to Frontier’s first equipped aircraft entering service.
Less clear (and almost certainly on purpose), is how the deals between SpaceX and the airlines implementing this new model are structured. Inflight internet providers burned millions upon millions of dollars over the past nearly 20 years subsidizing system installations on aircraft, hoping to make it up in service revenue. They’ve mostly all now admitted that was a mistake.
But the numbers there would be a rounding error on the balance sheet of SpaceX today, so perhaps the company is willing to gamble a bit more on that front.
A request to SpaceX for more details about its managed service approach remains unanswered at time of publication.
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Seth Miller has over a decade of experience covering the airline industry. With a strong focus on passenger experience, Seth also has deep knowledge of inflight connectivity and loyalty programs. He is widely respected as an unbiased commentator on the aviation industry.
He is frequently consulted on innovations in passenger experience by airlines and technology providers.
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