The first JSX aircraft carrying the SpaceX Starlink inflight internet service entered service last week. The carrier confirmed that the FAA certification for the installation was received earlier in the week and SpaceX noted that the kit is active.
The company also fitted an aircraft with a special livery to celebrate the service. This was first teased at Future Travel Experience in Las Vegas earlier this year.
The two companies previously expected the service to go live in October, with the special livery taking flight in November. In early November, however, SpaceX acknowledged that its efforts to obtain the Supplemental Type Certification (STC) from the Federal Aviation Administration were delayed.
With the certification now in hand the companies can move forward with the broader service deployment. In a statement to PaxEx.Aero JSX confirmed its expectation that the rollout timeline of the Starlink service across the fleet will run “through Q1 2023.”
The carrier also reconfirmed that the service will be offered to passengers at no additional cost once on board.
The aircraft featuring the special livery appears to be ship 915, which carries registration N16559 and is expected to eventually reregister as N915JX. JSX also has equipped N15910 with the hardware. That aircraft appears to be flying more charter services than scheduled operations for the carrier.
Additional installs are expected to take place in the weeks ahead, bringing the full fleet online.
Read more:
- JSX selects Starlink for in-flight WiFi
- Starlink Aviation opens up for BizAv orders
- In-flight connectivity’s next major hurdle: Smaller planes
- Starlink/JSX STC slips
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Looking forward to hearing what kind of performance their customers are having.
Likewise. The early test numbers were strong, but as the network grows that could be a challenge to maintain.