Qatar Airways enters its Starlink era, accelerates deployment plans

Qatar Airways‘ first Starlink-equipped 777 entered service on Tuesday, marking several milestones along the way. Among them, it is the first 777 to carry the Starlink system, first STC install for Starlink on a Boeing plane (but not the first install on a Boeing), and the first Starlink-equipped passenger aircraft in the MNEA region.

We are thrilled to launch our first Starlink-equipped flight, proving once again why Qatar Airways is at the forefront of the aviation industry.

– Qatar Airways’ Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer

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The flight, from Doha to London, was operated on A7-BEV, a 6.5 year old 777-300ER. With the successful first installation and entry into service of the aircraft, Qatar Airways plans to accelerate the service deployment. It now anticipates a dozen aircraft will be fitted before year end; previously it planned for only three.

Read more: Starlink shines on JSX

The full 777 fleet is expected to be fitted by the end of 2025, a year faster than the prior schedule. The carrier has 64 passenger 777s in its fleet today. Additionally, the airline plans to begin installation on its A350 fleet in Summer 2025.

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“Catch-and-release” portal in play

The service on board is free for all passengers. But, unlike other Starlink-equipped airlines, Qatar Airways implemented a simple capture portal for its aircraft. The company describes it as “one-click-access” in the release.

Read more: Hawaiian delivers nearly flawless in-flight internet with Starlink

This approach is in line with comments earlier this year from Xia Cai, SVP of Product Development and Design. Speaking at APEX TECH in March, she was clear that the airline would maintain some sort of connection with customers on board:

You need to have a portal at some point… You want to be able to just connect seamlessly but [a portal is necessary] for all the other things that you’re trying to offer to the customer. So, we are working on that. I cannot get into too much detail, but are we going to have a portal [with Starlink]? Most likely… You have to have an entry point, you have to have a jumping point. Because you’re connecting with the [airline or third party] brands.

Whether that single-click option expands to include more traditional “portal” bits going forward, and if that relationship can be retained, remains to be seen.

Interesting technical bits

A video shared by the airline shows what appears to be mounting for two antenna panels under a single radome, using the ARINC 791 standard. This differs from the A330 installation approach. It also has two antennae, but they are mounted “exposed” on the fuselage, similar to single-aisle installs for Starlink. The video showing the old mount points was part of the removal, not the installation. The pair of antennae are exposed on the fuselage just like on the A330 install, though closer together.

Qatar Airways pitches the service as being available gate-to-gate. It is unclear if this includes while the planes are overflying countries where Starlink does not have landing rights. The flight path for the inaugural passed over Kuwait, Iraq, and Turkey, areas where this could be an issue. A query to both the airline and to Starlink is pending.

Finally, The Australian reports that with the new service levels the carrier intends to enable video calling for passengers. This is not particularly special from a technical perspective, though much more compelling on a LEO network rather than the GEO systems Starlink is replacing for the carrier.

What it means for the cabin experience, however, remains to be seen. Enabling such services in business class but not economy would be a tough path to pursue.

More about airlines picking Starlink:

• Zipair pick SpaceX Starlink for IFC update
• AirBaltic picks Starlink for inflight internet
• Hawaiian Airlines gets online with Starlink
• Qatar Airways adds Starlink option for inflight internet
• Air New Zealand to trial Starlink on domestic fleet