Southwest Airlines Begins Starlink Wi-Fi Rollout
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Featured image: Bradley Wint/Gate Checked
Southwest Airlines has joined the ranks of more than 40 carriers offering Starlink high speed internet on board its flights.
The new service was launched on one of its Boeing 737-800s registered N8543Z. As highlighted in the past, Starlink offers much higher wireless internet download speeds because its satellites are in low earth orbit rather than in a geostationary orbit. It’s closer proximity to the earth, and the fact that there are thousands of them orbiting the earth on multiple planes allows them to offer pole-to-pole coverage.
“Starlink delivers a new era of inflight connectivity to Southwest,” said Tony Roach, Chief Customer and Brand Officer. “Starting with this first aircraft, we will be rapidly integrating Starlink into our fleet this year. This ultra-fast WiFi brings an at-home experience to the air and redefines how Customers can stay connected, be productive, and make the most of their time while flying at 35,000 feet.”
Southwest currently operations a fleet of 800 Boeing 737s (including 737-700s, 737-800s and MAX 8s), and hope to have at least 300 of those outfitted with Starlink by the end of 2026. At that rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if they complete the entire fleet before the end of 2027.
The installation process doesn’t seem insanely long either as both Qatar and United have proven. In a recent United Airlines update, they originally planned to roll out Starlink across its mainline and regional fleet of 1,500+ aircraft over the course of several years, but have since expedited the process, and expect to finish at least 1,000 aircraft by the end of 2026.
Prior to Southwest’s switch to Starlink, they partnered with both Anuvu and Viasat, both of which operate satellites in geostationary orbit. Besides much slower download speeds, latency was also much higher as a result of the increased distance between the satellite, the aircraft, and the ground station.
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