Why Delta Passengers Are Bringing Their Own Starlink Onboard – But Finding It Can’t Beat Free WiFi

Starlink has the fastest internet in the sky. It blows away Viasat and similar offerings that you’ll find on airlines like American and Delta. Bandwidth aside, their satellites are in lower orbit and the signal just has a shorter distance to travel. In my experience on board, it’s meant basically no latency. I can work in the air just like I do with a fiber connection on the ground.

JSX was the first carrier with Starlink on board. Hawaiian Airlines has it now. United, Air France and Qatar are all getting it.

One passenger on Delta wasn’t satisfied with their free high speed wifi, and wanted Starlink – so he brought his own.

Despite bringing a Starlink receiver, he couldn’t make it work in the air. And it’s not because he was in the sky – it can work in the sky! People have literally made this same set up work:

It turns out that the speed of mainline jets, though, is the problem – they know how fast you’re going and plans themselves limit access based on this. The system may shut you down if you’re traveling at over 100 mph. (The ‘roam’ plan includes “In-motion use up to 100 Mph / 160 Kph”.)

Interestingly, TSA won’t let you bring a dangerous bottle of water through its checkpoints but will allow you to bring complex electronics like this. I’d also note that even if you’re on a Starlink plan that supports high speed travel, some aircraft are going to limit you’re ability to receive or broadcast a signal. For instance, the composite frame of the Boeing 787 acts as a Faraday cage which seems likely to block the signal at least in part (antennas are thus placed on the outside of airframes to support aircraft-wide connectivity).

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. One time I turned on a Garmin GPS (the type used in cars) during flight just to see if it worked. It did.

    The only trick was I would periodically lose the signal & had to stick it flat against the window (just like the customer in the picture with the Starlink).

  2. Interesting article, I’m surprised that the FA’s didn’t restrict this use. Although there is some truth to the point that the 787 composite hull acts as a Faraday Cage, the PAX was pointing the dish through a window, so that point is mute. Speaking of that issue, apparently the 787 composite hull has a buried mesh for lightning strike protection, which “works” only in the sense that it does dissipate lightning. That said, the unfortunate result is massive lightning damage all over the airframe and not just where the strike occurred. In 20/20 hindsight, solid copper bus bars bonded to the outside of the composite (and covered by the livery paint) would have made far more sense.

  3. I never thought I would read an article on a website with the words “Faraday cage” in it. Cool

  4. @Disgruntled: Yes and the GPS on your phone will work the same way, by putting it close to your window. Seems to do better if you’re seated on the south-facing side of the a/c, at least in middle latitudes. Of course, you need to have internet access or download the map base first from Google Maps – otherwise you just get a blue dot on a blank screen. Which isn’t useful.

  5. The electronics vs bottle of water point is a good one is 2024. Hopefully something the new Dept on Govt Efficiency can solve. Perhaps we can pay to get water through TSA using DOGE coins

  6. The TSA will be lifting the liquids restrictions in the next 2 years. Only the newest X-ray (CT scanners now) machines can test liquids on the fly so that is the holdup, they are live testing these machines in many airports as of writing this. If you have ever traveled with “oversized liquids” you would know they have the ability to test them if needed. The issue is that process is slow due to the tech available. They utilize bottle scanners or test strips and both are manual and take a few minutes. If they lifted the ban for liquids today and had to test all the liquids, the line would be out the door waiting for bag checks and tests as everyone would be packing water and tons of toiletries. This is why they can’t allow the ban to be lifted yet. As a tip, if you claim “any” liquid as medically necessary, they are instructed to test it and let you go. They are specifically told to not ask what it is for, as they are not doctors and should not make assumptions when they do not know anything about medicine, nor your needs. That being said, many are overzealous and break that rule frequently. Ask for someone of higher rank and state the same thing, it is for medical needs and HIPPA protects me from having to share with you my medical needs. If a complaint is filed, this is taken very seriously, especially if filmed. – 20yrs with TSA, I know what I am talking about here.

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