Frontier Airlines is installing Starlink wifi – the best connectivity in the sky by a large margin. Today, they do not offer wifi at all.
The plan is to outfit their entire fleet beginning next year. The service will offer gate-to-gate connectivity and will be managed by Starlink itself. Other Indigo Partners-controlled airlines including Wizz Air, Volaris, JetSMART, and Cebu Pacific are expected to install Starlink across their more than 1,000 aircraft as well.
What’s striking is how this catapults Frontier ahead of Delta.
- With Delta even ‘unbundling’ domestic first class and business class, telling passengers buying even premium tickets under the ‘basic’ moniker that they don’t get to use priority check-in even, I’m not sure that they’re a ‘premium’ airline anymore. Their base product is the basic one, and anything beyond that comes at an extra charge. Just like Frontier.
- So compare the product that you actually decide to buy from Frontier and from Delta, and the value for money each one offers. I haven’t flown Frontier because they’ve lacked internet. But they will soon have better inflight internet than Delta, and they’ll hold this lead for quite some time since Delta won’t begin installing Starlink competitor Amazon Leo until 2028 and only then half their fleet.
Frontier will soon sell a first class seat, and already sells extra legroom coach with a blocked middle seat which is superior to Delta Comfort+.
Soon United, American, Southwest, Alaska and Frontier will all feature Starlink. Delta will still have old technology. Eventually they and JetBlue will move to Amazon Leo, which remains unproven and with a much smaller satellite footprint.
Years ago, then-Frontier CEO Barry Biffle said he’d add Starlink when it got cheap. But that was before it became the consensus that the post-Covid trend towards premium would be enduring. Frontier is about to be a real serious option for flying.
Frontier is trying but I don’t know if they will be able to capture that market. They like Spirit made their bed with bottom of the barrel customers that will never turn a profit for an airline. Moving upscale with a horrible reputation won’t be easy. Not to mention DL has far superior route options and far better options, at least in theory, when it comes to irregular operations.
Delta has lost its way. They fly very old 757 w constant mechanical delays. When it rains in Atlanta flights are four to six hours late. When you finally land, the assigned gate has a parked jet in it. There is no food on board. Amd most of all even Diamonds rarely get upgraded. They need some serious customer service re-training and spend some money on their product and training people. It used to be so good. Those days are over and rhey just want to screw their top customers. It truly makes zero sense IMO. (Unless all rhey care about is their stock price as it continues to shine bc they don’t spend on their planes, food or rewarding Elites. Sad sad amd sad
@GaRY: Sit in a Frontier seat. Notice that it is padless. Seriously better experience than Delta?
There is truly no incentive or bribe Frontier Airlines could offer that would convince me to board their aircraft. I did fly with them once last year. It was an excruciating experience from beginning to end. Out of control Flight Crew who literally screamed at a passenger for continuing to stand after the seat belt sign was illuminated while waiting to use the restroom, to the most painful seat of any airline in existence.
paid Starlink WiFi on Frontier is better than over 1000 DL and DL Connection flights with free WiFi including across the Atlantic and to Latin America?
Stop drinking so early, Gary.
(*glug glug glug* — Gary.) LOL
Frontier is proving that any and all carriers should offer reliable (preferably ‘included’) WiFi. It’s 2026. The technology is there. It’s a choice to not offer it by now.
And Delta will leapfrog everyone with Leo since it has better speeds and better user experience that can be tailored to you?
@ Gary — As I’ve been trying to explain to Tim Dunn for years, Delta would not be best forever. We are seeing overwhelming evidence of that being true this year. Similarly, Lufthansa and American aren’t going to suck forever. We seeing blossoms opening with these players, too. Once Luftansa completes installation of its new business class in 2032, they will be a great way to get to Europe once again.
Gene
The history of civilization says that “the king of the hill” never stays that way and yet the evidence continues to show that DL does lead the US airline industry.
DL got to that position because it innovated and grew. We are seeing DL growing including on the west coast and across the Pacific which is where UA makes its greatest claim to superiority.
2032 is an eternity away in today’s world. 16 eternities in the airline world.
@Gene — “blossoms opening” … vivid!
@Tim Dunn — If we’re doing “king of the hill,” I’d’ve gone with: ‘Bwah! That boy ain’t right…’ and, if they don’t fly Delta…”we ask them politely, yet firmly, to leave.”
But how am I going to experience all the wonderful benefits of connectivity without a branded portal? I need that AOL experience that delta is promising in 5-10 years, not seamless high speed internet now.
Even though I have flown DL enough to have Diamond Medallion status for the last few years, if I had a better choice for my work destination (LAX to ATL) I would gladly switch. From the devaluation of their sky pesos to the lack of loyalty value in general, I’d dump them in a hot second if I could. No other real viable option for me out of LAX. I can find the occasional AA flight, but I dislike them even more. I will say though, the food in first on the Delta flights is better than others and the FA’s are much more pleasant than AA by a factor of 5X. Given the value proposition of Frontier and them now having Starlink connectivity, I’d give them a try for sure on whatever premium product they offer
Yes @Tim Dunn – paid starlink on frontier will be better than anything delta offers in 2027 and 2028 and probably 2029, and they only plan to upgrade to a technology that will hopefully maybe match starting in 2028 and only then for part of their fleet.
OK, so Gary maybe drank too much….coffee… today, but what’s Tim smokin’?
Silly me! I’ve been laboring under the impression that an airline’s main function is to provide safe transportation for people and goods. Apparently I’m mistaken. According to this and other airline travel blogs, an airline’s main job is to provide entertainment.
@DesertGhost — Like you often say: “And you’ve been CEO of how many airlines?” (Yeah, take your own medicine.) I see what you said as merely a silly oversimplification and deflection, like usual. You know such amenities (entertainment, better seats, meals, etc.) are part of the travel experience and how these companies differentiate themselves. Meanwhile, you think passengers are mere cargo.
These comments are fun!
@Matt — For a ‘fun’ and ‘premium’ experience, please consider Delta. (@L737, I swear…)
@DesertGhost – apparently you haven’t been listening to airline earnings calls. Airlines are no longer just about schedule and price and getting passengers from A to B. Spirit tried that!
@Conrad: “And Delta will leapfrog everyone with Leo since it has better speeds and better user experience that can be tailored to you?”
Nonsense. Amazon has not launched a single satellite yet. We don’t know when Delta will get Leo or what Starlink will offer then. Someone has been having you on.
What we can say is that Delta made a huge mistake in choosing Leo. It guaranteed that they are YEARS behind their competitors and will have the least capable WiFi offering for years.
@L3 — Worse. They ‘tried’ and failed on May 28, 2026, when a New Glenn rocket operated by Blue Origin exploded during a static fire test at Cape Canaveral… (Eh, you know they say: ‘You can’t make a Tomlette without breaking some Greggs…’)
@ Gary — I know you are smarter than all of is, so you probably invest 100% SP500 index. So, why bother listening to all these earnings calls??
@Gene — Line go up.
the only payment has been to you and the rest of the mindless internet blog community that thinks that a 5 year headstart on free WiFi which is now offered on 85% of DL’s international flights and 90% of its domestic flights is superior to an airline that will start to install Starlink
DL is installing dual antenna WiFi on the 717s as well as A321NEOs and there will be more. Viasat is launching 2 satellites this year that will benefit DL and other Viasat users.
You simply have no idea what the status of WiFi will be by the time the Starlink carriers finish their installations but DL will beat them all in percentage of aircraft with fast free WiFi across its global network.
I have used DL and WN’s WiFi and it is more than adequate. Do you try to watch porn online and that is why you find Viasat WiFi unworkable?
and please do tell us how much money UA lost by not having free WiFI for years after DL started installing it
@ Tim — United is already superior to Delta. What’s your point exactly? It’s like comparing an airline with hundreds of decent widebodies and the best global alliance (United) to one that has a massive number of crappy 767s and crappy alliance partners (Delta) that is starting to take delivery of some great aircraft. Delta has alot of catching up to do.
I’m sure that next you will ramble on about Boeing and Pratt & Whitney. Maybe Delta should get their own house in order and stop blaming everyone else for their failures?
Are we just waking up to the fact that Delta is the worst most predatory airline in American history?.They have damaged everything for the traveling public from program value (monkey see monkey do)to now this tragic business scam.I have boycotted them for 30 years spending everywhere but on Delta
Let fools continue to fly and support this aberration of an airline on many of their antiquated aircrafts.My heart goes out to anyone caught in their slimy web I mean hub.Nothing worse then being held hostage in one of their hubs
@Gene — I donno. I’d’ve said ‘Delta v. United’ is basically ‘Coke v. Pepsi’; sure, folks have their favorites, but at the end of the day, both are just carbonated, caffeinated sugar-water…
Delta’s free WiFi doesn’t mean it’s better. AA has free WiFi now across the vast majority of its fleet, and it’s still garbage GEO. I’d pay money for Starlink today over crappy GEO.
Meanwhile Starlink has gained an incredible amount of traction because, frankly, it’s the best by orders of magnitude. Even lame AA has finally seen the light.
Amazon LEO still can’t get birds in orbit. They have a couple hundred, but Starlink has about 10,000 more. And they are about to launch their first v3 birds this week on Starship. LEO is also in a higher orbit which means more latency. Delta’s choice here is very questionable.
@ Tim — Boeing and Pratt & Whitney comment obviously makes no sense, but anyway, those are United’s issues but they aren’t constantly cryingy about them. Delta meanwhile, tries to balme ALPA, Georgia Power, City of ATL, Crowdstrike or whoever for their problems…
@ Dave — “Predatory” is an excellent label
@Gene – I invest in a broad-based basket of equities. I do not make bets on individual stocks and certainly not individual airline stocks. I listen to earnings calls and investor presentations to be better-informed about the companies, not to fuel my investment choices.
Frontier seats don’t recline, if that’s important to you. Their standard legroom is the tightest you have ever experienced. Their schedule three months out is merely a suggestion, and it will be changed. They charge you more online than if you buy over the counter at the airport.
All that said, Frontier is the best deal in the sky, especially with Gold status. I am happy to spend money with a worthy competitor to the new Southwest and the other cookie cutter carriers.
The question still remains how united actually manages to fly given that it didn’t even have free high-speed Internet for years after Delta had it. The nonsense that any Starlink carrier will have an advantage over carriers that started the process years earlier can only be attributed to pay nonsense from Elon Musk. If United didn’t have a disadvantage by not having free high-speed Internet for years, then Delta certainly won’t have a disadvantage when it already serves 90% of its global network on 90% of its fleet with free high speed Internet right now.
Another Delta Failure