Qatar Airways brings Starlink Wi-Fi to first Boeing 787-9

Qatar Airways has fitted a Boeing 787-9 with Starlink satellite Wi-Fi, according to the carrier, marking what it describes as the first such installation on that aircraft variant worldwide. The move follows completion of the Starlink rollout across its Boeing 787-8 aircraft, a process the airline said took seven months.

The Doha-based carrier now counts 150 widebody aircraft fitted with Starlink connectivity. It said it expects to finish equipping its entire 787 fleet by the end of 2026.

According to Qatar Airways, similar rollouts were completed earlier on its Boeing 777 fleet, taking nine months, and its Airbus A350 fleet, taking eight months. With those programs finished, the airline says it operates the largest Starlink-equipped fleets of 777, A350 and 787 aircraft in the industry.

The carrier has also been extending free, gate-to-gate Starlink access across more of its network, including flights to the Americas, Australasia, and destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. It noted that gate-to-gate access may not be available everywhere because of local regulatory constraints.

Qatar Airways said it was the first carrier to offer Starlink on long-haul and ultra-long-haul flights spanning six continents. Since introducing the service in October 2024, more than 23 million passengers have connected to it across over 86,000 flights, the airline said.

The airline added that its widebody Starlink program is now more than 83 percent complete, with as many as 323 Starlink-equipped flights operating daily. The service offers Wi-Fi speeds of up to 500 Mbps, allowing passengers to work, communicate or stream video during flights.