American Airlines In Talks With Amazon For Superfast In-Flight Wi-Fi… There’s Just One Major Snag

Jeff Bezos could be about to win the biggest customer so far for his ambitious satellite internet company, which now goes by the name Amazon Leo, after American Airlines confirmed it had been in talks to provide fast, low-latency broadband quality in-flight Wi-Fi across its fleet.

And with more than 1,000 aircraft in its mainline fleet alone, striking a deal with American Airlines would mark a special victory for Amazon, putting it on the world stage against Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service.

American Airlines says It Has Been In Talks With Amazon Over In-Flight Wi-Fi Service

American Airlines’ chief executive, Robert Isom, has confirmed that the Fort Worth-based carrier has been in talks with Amazon Leo to provide its satellite internet service across its fleet, although a deal has yet to be done.

The airline could still choose to maintain its current contract with traditional in-flight internet provider Viasat, or even opt for a rival satellite service from Starlink.

“While there’s Starlink, there are other low-Earth-orbit satellite opportunities that we can look at,” Isom was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “We’re making sure that American is going to have what our customers need,” Isom added.

And what customers are very quickly starting to need is fast, free, and reliable in-flight internet.

American Airlines is in the process of turning on free in-flight Wi-Fi, but it remains to be seen whether Viasat can keep up with the speed and reliability requirements of travelers who want to be able to stream, work, and communicate at 38,000 feet just like they would on the ground.

What Is Amazon Leo And Does It Differ From Elon Musk’s Starlink?

Formerly going by the name of Project Kaipur, Amazon Leo is a play on the acronym LEO, which stands for low-earth-orbit – a reference to the so-called ‘constellation’ of satellites that sit in low-earth-orbit to provide broadband quality wireless internet to nearly every corner of the globe.

Amazon Leo provides fast, low low-latency Wi-Fi in pretty much the same way that Starlink does, but there’s one big difference: Starlink is much further ahead in its deployment.

While Starlink currently has thousands of satellites orbiting the earth, Amazon Leo has faced a series of embarrassing delays and only started launching satellites in April 2025.

As a result, Amazon Leo has just 150 satellites currently in orbit, and it won’t be until 2027 that the service is ready to go.

What Other Airlines Have Shown An Interest In Amazon Leo?

Given the delays that have beset Amazon Leo, it’s perhaps unsurprising that other major carriers have opted to partner with Starlink as they seek to differentiate their in-flight experience and keep up with the competition.

So far, Amazon Leo has only secured one airline partner in the form of JetBlue, which announced that it planned to launch the Wi-Fi service in 2027 on Airbus A321s that currently have an older (and much slower) Fly-Fi Wi-Fi technology.

Amazon Leo was said to be in advanced talks with European airline conglomerate IAG, which owns the likes of British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus, but last month, IAG announced that it had signed a massive deal with Starlink for a fleetwide installation starting early next year.

Which airlines have chosen which satellite internet service?

Amazon Leo	Starlink

Bottom Line

American Airlines has held talks with Amazon Leo for superfast in-flight Wi-Fi services, but if the carrier does opt for the Jeff Bezos-owned service, it could be 2027 at the earliest before it comes online.

Understandably, American Airlines believes that holding off and opening discussions with both Amazon and Starlink will enable it to secure the best deal. The question, though, is whether passengers are willing to wait that long.