American Airlines to fit entire fleet with Starlink satellite internet

American Airlines plans to equip its whole fleet with Starlink satellite internet, according to the carrier's plan reported by aeroTELEGRAPH. Work is to begin in early 2027 and covers more than 1,000 aircraft.

The programme includes all of the airline's Airbus and Boeing short-haul and long-haul jets. In May, American said it would fit more than 500 Airbus aircraft with Starlink. That scheme now covers the entire mainline fleet.

That fleet has over 500 Airbus narrowbody aircraft, more than 400 Boeing narrowbody aircraft and over 130 Boeing widebody aircraft.

The equipment is Starlink's Performance Aero Terminal, which the manufacturer says supports data transfer rates of up to one gigabit per second per terminal. Passengers are to have fast internet throughout the flight, including time on the ground.