Germany’s Lufthansa Group has just become one of Starlink’s biggest airline customers to date after it announced plans to install the super-fast Wi-Fi service on more than 850 aircraft across its fleet.
Along with the namesake German flag carrier Lufthansa, the group also comprises some of Europe’s other biggest airline brands, including Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, and SWISS.
In addition, the deal also includes Lufthansa’s newest airline brand, Italy’s ITA Airways, and lesser-known brands, including Air Dolomiti, Discover Airlines, and Edelweiss.
Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service, a division of SpaceX, is fast becoming the near de facto in-flight Wi-Fi service as airlines race to equip their fleets with fast and free internet.
The service uses a so-called ‘constellation’ of low-earth orbit satellites to provide high-speed, low-latency internet access around the world. Unlike rival in-flight Wi-Fi services, Starlink nearly always insists that airlines provide the service to customers for free across multiple devices.
The Lufthansa Group says that Starlink installations are anticipated to start in the second half of 2026, although the airline has not provided any further details on the rollout.
Presumably, the airline will start the rollout at its premium brands like Lufthansa and SWISS, with leisure carriers such as Discover and Edelweiss completing the rollout.
The deal makes the Lufthansa Group the biggest airline customer for Starlink in Europe. It will be going head-to-head with Air France, which has already started its rollout, and International Airlines Group (IAG), which is expected to start installing Starlink in early 2026.
IAG consists of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL, and Vueling. Unlike Lufthansa, which plans to make Starlink available free of charge to all customers, across all travel classes, it’s understood that IAG has struck a deal with Starlink to allow them to charge Vueling and LEVEL customers for the privilege of accessing in-flight Wi-Fi.
Internationally, the Lufthansa Group is Starlink’s second-largest airline customer, just behind United Airlines, which plans to install the service across its entire mainline and regional fleet of more than 1,000 aircraft.
Sensing the marketing opportunity that comes with offering free broadband-quality gate-to-gate Wi-Fi, other airlines have also been quick to advertise their unique relationship with Starlink.
Dubai-based Emirates, for example, boasts that it will offer the largest widebody, international fleet of Starlink-enabled aircraft, although arch rival Qatar Airways is quick to point out that it currently operates the largest in-service fleet of Starlink-enabled widebody planes.
How many planes will Starlink’s biggest airline customers have the service installed on?
