On October 26, 2026, easyJet announced that it will roll out Starlink inflight Wi-Fi across its A320, A320neo and A321neo fleet from the first half of 2027, with the rollout expected to be completed by early 2028. It is the first time the airline will offer internet onboard. Passengers will be able to stream, game and browse on their own devices, just as they would on the ground.
3-line summary
- On October 26, 2026, European airline easyJet announced it will start fitting Starlink Wi-Fi to its A320, A320neo and A321neo aircraft in the first half of 2027, with the rollout expected to be completed by early 2028. It is the airline's first onboard internet.
- easyJet carried 100 million passengers in 2025. Passengers will be able to stream, game and browse on their own devices, check flight status, and potentially order from the inflight menu from their seats.
- The speed comes from two things: the satellites are close (low Earth orbit), and an electronically steered antenna lets a moving plane keep tracking moving satellites.
Background: there are two kinds of "fast"
Bandwidth is how much data can move per second. It is measured in Mbps (megabits per second, a million bits) or Gbps (gigabits per second, a billion bits; 1 Gbps = 1,000 Mbps). Think of it as the width of a water pipe. A wider pipe moves more water (data) at once. Streaming video or sending large files depends on this width.
Latency is the time it takes for data to reach the other side and for the reply to come back. It is measured in milliseconds (thousandths of a second). In the water analogy, it is the wait between turning the tap and seeing water come out. No matter how wide the pipe is, a long pipe makes you wait for the first drop. Video calls and online games, which need quick replies, depend on this.
Distance to the satellite largely sets the latency. Many older inflight Wi-Fi systems use geostationary satellites, about 36,000 km above the equator. They appear fixed in the sky, which makes pointing an antenna easy, but they are far away. Radio waves travel at about 300,000 km per second, like light. By my own calculation, going plane → satellite → ground station and back again covers about 36,000 km × 4 = 144,000 km, which takes about 0.48 seconds on its own. Starlink satellites, by contrast, fly in low Earth orbit, a few hundred kilometers up. Using 550 km as an example, the same trip is about 2,200 km, or about 0.007 seconds. Just the travel time of the signal differs by about 70 times.
Sharing matters too. Inflight Wi-Fi splits one antenna's worth of connection on the roof of the plane among everyone on board. By my own calculation, if a plane has 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) and 180 people use it at the same time, each gets about 5.5 Mbps. In practice not everyone uses a lot at once, so it usually feels better than that, but the key idea is: "one plane's pipe, divided by how many people."
What happened
| Item | Details (easyJet announcement, October 26, 2026) |
|---|---|
| What | Starlink high-speed inflight internet (the airline's first onboard Wi-Fi) |
| Aircraft | A320, A320neo, A321neo |
| Timing | Installation from the first half of 2027, expected to be completed by early 2028 |
| Use | Passengers stream, game and browse on their own devices |
| Other uses | Flight status via the app and website, destination weather, transport and tourism info, potential ordering from the inflight menu |
| Company size | 100 million passengers in 2025, over 350 aircraft, over 1,200 routes, more than 160 airports in 35 countries |
easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis said staying connected matters more than ever, for holidaymakers unwinding with entertainment and for business customers keeping up with what is happening on the ground. Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX, said fast, reliable connectivity from take-off to landing means people can work, stream or stay in touch without interruption.
The aircraft named in the announcement are the A320, A320neo and A321neo; the airline's older, smaller A319 is not among them.
Why it matters
First, a low-cost airline decided to fit its whole main fleet. easyJet has never offered internet onboard. For low-cost carriers, which keep fares down by trimming cabin extras, the cost of modifying each aircraft and paying for connectivity is a real burden. Even so, easyJet chose to equip all of its main aircraft types. The announcement says the aim includes attracting more business and leisure customers.
Second, the assumption that "inflight Wi-Fi is slow" is changing. As shown above, systems using distant geostationary satellites have high latency, which makes video calls and games hard. Low-orbit satellites bring the experience much closer to a ground connection. That is what the announcement means by "just as they would on the ground."
Third, an airline that once held back changed course. In January 2026, Jarvis was reported as saying that easyJet was talking with Starlink but the economics were not quite working yet. About nine months later, the airline announced the deal.
How it works: a moving plane tracking moving satellites
Starlink's official aviation page (checked October 27, 2026) lists these figures for its "Performance" aviation kit:
| Item | Official figure |
|---|---|
| Download | Up to 1 Gbps |
| Upload | Up to 100 Mbps |
| Latency | About 20 ms |
| Track record | Service on more than 200,000 flights; over 30,000 flights with its airline terminal |
| Laser links between satellites | More than 9,000 lasers; 100 Gbps per link; links satellites up to 5,300 km apart; over 10 petabits of traffic per day |
The page notes that the speeds are maximums, not guaranteed, and that they drop during congestion.
The hard part is that both ends are moving. An airliner flies at roughly 800 km/h, while a low-orbit satellite crosses the sky at about 7.5 km per second (about 27,000 km/h). Any one satellite is in view for only a few minutes, so the plane must keep handing off from satellite to satellite while staying connected.
That is the job of the phased array antenna. Many small antennas are laid out flat, and by slightly shifting the timing of each one's signal, the beam is steered electronically, without physically turning the antenna. It changes direction faster than a motor-driven dish and stays flat, which makes it easier to mount on top of an aircraft.
Over the sea or far from ground stations, the laser links between satellites matter. Even without a ground station nearby, data can hop from satellite to satellite by light until it reaches one. That matters for an airline with many flights over the Mediterranean and between the mainland and islands.
Timeline
- January 29, 2026: Jarvis was reported as saying easyJet was in talks with Starlink but the economics were not quite working yet.
- October 26, 2026: easyJet announced it will adopt Starlink inflight Wi-Fi. easyJet's and Starlink's official accounts also posted about it on X.
- First half of 2027: Installation scheduled to begin.
- Early 2028: Rollout expected to be completed.
Useful points for reading the news
- For "fast inflight Wi-Fi," first ask which orbit: geostationary (about 36,000 km) versus low orbit (a few hundred km) makes a huge difference in latency.
- "Up to 1 Gbps" is per plane, not per person: everyone on board shares it. The more people using it at once, the thinner each share.
- It takes time from announcement to full fleet: aircraft are modified one by one, so between early 2027 and early 2028 some easyJet flights will have Wi-Fi and some will not.
Read next
- Starlink's phone-to-satellite service goes nationwide in Brazil. Why an ordinary phone can connect where there is no signal
- The FCC approves more "phone-to-satellite" spectrum for SpaceX. Why the uplink matters
- What Is Falcon 9? Size, Engines, Payload and How Reuse Works, Checked on SpaceX's Official Page
A question to carry forward: Starlink has launched thousands of satellites. Why does it need many small satellites instead of a few large geostationary ones?
Sources
- easyJet, "easyJet to offer connectivity onboard for the first time with Starlink, the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky, with rapid roll out coming from 2027" (official announcement, October 26, 2026) → https://www.easyjet.com/en/news/airline/story/easyjet-to-offer-connectivity-onboard-for-the-first-time-with-starlink-the-fastest-wi-fi-in-the-sky-with-rapid-roll-out-coming-from-2027
- easyJet (@easyJet) post (October 26, 2026) → https://x.com/easyJet/status/2114673396495884395
- Starlink (@Starlink) post (October 26, 2026) → https://x.com/Starlink/status/2114695236459094499
- Starlink, "Starlink Aviation" (official page, checked October 27, 2026) → https://www.starlink.com/business/aviation
- Reuters via WHBL (January 29, 2026, CEO remarks on economics) → https://whbl.com/2026/01/29/easyjet-exploring-starlink-wi-fi-deal-but-economics-not-right-yet/
Verification status
The adoption, aircraft types, timing, uses, quotes from the CEO and from Shotwell, and company size were confirmed in easyJet's official announcement. Performance and track-record figures are from Starlink's official page as of October 27, 2026. The January 2026 remarks are as reported from an earnings call. Pricing for passengers has not been announced. This article is for learning about science and technology and is not investment advice.
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