Airlines will be able to charge extra for Starlink wifi for the first time.
Until now, Starlink wifi has always been free. That’s been a requiremnet by Starlink from the very first launch of their service.
Every Starlink implementation so far has meant free low earth orbit satellite wifi, whether launched or committed by United; IAG airlines (e.g. Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia); Lufthansa Group airlines (e.g. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways); Hanjin Group carriers (Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jin Air, Air Busan, Air Seoul); airBaltic, Air France, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines; Emirates; flydubai; Gulf Air; Qatar Airways; SAS; Virgin Atlantic; Southwest Airlines; American Airlines; WestJet; ZIPAIR. JSX was actually first with Starlink.
However, it won’t be free at Copa except for premium cabin passengers and elite frequent flyers or Starlink’s own residential or roaming customers.
No price for access has been announced yet. We’ll know soon enough – three months ago they announced that their fleet of around 100 Boeing 737s would be installed this year.
Copa’s adoption of Starlink, when they didn’t have inflight wifi at all before, is huge. But perhaps even bigger is introducing paid inflight Starlink. And that makes me wonder if this newfound flexibility, perhaps related to SpaceX becoming a public company and feeling pressure to grow revenue (or to scoop up more business from Amazon Leo), means that they would have also had more flexibility for Delta if that decision had waited just a few months.
Delta chose Amazon for low earth orbit satellite wifi in the future because (1) Amazon would allow their system to be gated by Delta’s portal and Starlink wouldn’t, and (2) Delta could get a better financial deal bundling wifi with Amazon Studios content and cloud services.
(HT: Seth Miller)
anybody who chooses to fly Copa deserves the misery
Nothing is ‘free’… it’s “included,” as it should be, in 2026, on all airlines. We have the technology; it’s a choice to not incorporate it, or to charge extra for it.
As for Copa, it’s one of the few airlines with a few 737s that actually have lie-flat, 2-2. While not perfect, Copa is better on that standpoint than most carriers. SQ is another. Why can’t AA, DL, UA, etc. handle this? A “premium” airline should have better seats up-front. 5+ hour redeyes in recliners ain’t ‘great.’
Wizz Air announced they’ll be installing Starlink. The press release does not include the word “free” or “complimentary”.
@P — Does it say, “included,” though? Oh, who am I kidding, it’s Wizz, so, we should be more concerned that it is “functioning.” It’s still craycray that they fly Gatwick to Jeddah. That’s like a 7-hour nonstop on Spirit. (RIP.)
Why would anyone fly Copa unless you actually were going to Panama City?
@LadyOlives — Cheap ‘business’ class to Latin America (actual lie-flat on some aircraft).
Where’s @haleonet (sic), who I believe is based in Panama, for his hot-take on this?
@1990 – no it doesn’t say “included” either.
Yes, I see a world in which Starlink will only be complimentary to premium class and elite status. When wifi is not free I wonder what the uptake is. I may have paid for it 2-3 times a year. On a sub three hour flight it’s just not worth it.
@George Romey — And the reason you’ve paid for it, even as a Concierge Key, is because American Airlines has been so freaking cheap over the years about their WiFi (paid only, until recently.) *incoming: Gary to espouse the benefits of him paying for WiFi that only he uses…*
I’m surprised it’s not free only because it’s not a scarce resource. Took a QR flight last year with it and was using VPN and doing actual work (which is terrifying; I don’t want my managers thinking I can do real work on a plane!) with absolutely zero issues. It was just like I was at home, and I ran a speed test that showed something like 250Mb/s IIRC and like 40ms latency or something (way better than cellular!).
The whole reason to charge for WiFi previously was to keep it usable for folks. I don’t see this being hugely successful, but then I don’t know Copa’s customers super well.
Tangentially, can you imagine how much better Amtrak WiFi would be if “powered by Starlink” instead of their borderline LTE modems from 10 years ago? No more coverage gaps, at least in my area! Would make for a much better commute for the folks able to swing that.
Hell, I’d accept the removal of seat-back screens if airlines would reliably provide Starlink and charging options at my seat!
@jamesb2147 — Por que no los dos? Let’s not give-up on IFE screens (AVOD). We can/should have screens, WiFi, and charging!
*tada* Thanks 1990 – and yeah, still doing the USA/Panama commute. You should see the cost of a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo in Panama City or San Carlos; seems every flight on AA/DL/UA is FULL of commuters/retirees for a *reason*. And the fact my Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance is only $150 USD/mo there…
@ladyolives – you should see what the competition in Central/South America is doing. Avianca is racing to the bottom to make Frontier seem luxurious. And do we talk about Viva, Sky, Wingo, etc…
Copa is still a pretty good product, they still offer FREE meals on flights over 3 hours, free beverages (sadly not even liquor/wine/beer in Y), a pretty good business class product that can be hit-or-miss (the lie flats are amazing though). And Tocumen is a good connection point, pretty efficient. The extra legroom seats (Economy Plus mirror) are also an affordable upgrade. Plus, the airline is essentially operating at US Part 121 standards, thanks to the Continental Airlines involvement in the 1990s where they pretty much use all of their manuals & procedures. That alone makes me feel 900000x more safe on Copa than on any other airline in Latin America… when was the last time we heard of a Copa 737 going off a runway or killing a bunch of people? While Panama is a former “shell colony” of the US, the airline still operates like it is.
So yeah, I’ll take the wifi, even if its paid.
@haolenate — (Sorry for butchering your name earlier…) Oh yeah, I’ve been impressed with my visits to Panama. (And the new-ish side of the PTY terminal.) Always ‘fun’ to return to a place after a decade to see what’s changed and what hasn’t. Speaking of South America, Argentina (EZE, AEP) feels nearly identical to a 2010s; meanwhile, Uruguay has a brand-new terminal at MVD; looks like a space-ship. Is SCL, international terminal ever going to finish its renovations (after immigration/security)? Sheesh. Anyway, I’m just rambling at this point.