British Airways to launch Starlink Wi-Fi this month

British Airways will join a global shift to Starlink Wi-Fi this month when the Oneworld member's first Starlink-equipped Boeing 787 takes to the skies.

And based on results to date, passengers can look forward to download speeds in excess of 100Mbps.

Even better: Starlink Wi-Fi will be free for all passengers, from the coveted first class suites in Row 1 to the very last row in economy.

BA currently charges as much as £21.99 for an allegedly streaming-grade connection on its long-haul flights, although frequent flyers can attest it rarely even reaches 5Mpbs; messaging-only packages cost up to £5.

However, nobody will have to enter their credit card details or even be a member of the British Airways Club loyalty program to log on.

Lightning fast, and free

Travellers will simply connect to the network through the plane's hotspot and access the Internet without a login or payment portal, due to Starlink’s insistence on a friction-less experience.

But with all that fast and free bandwidth on tap, it's not yet known if British Airways will ban disruptive and just plain annoying Facetime and WhatsApp video calls.

The Starlink service will be available on a gate-to-gate basis, rather than waiting until the plane reaches a stable altitude, which is typically above 10,000 feet.

The addition of Starlink connectivity to the BA fleet is a milestone in British Airways’ £7bn transformation plan, with airline chief Sean Doyle describing this as a “game-changing” technology.

“Especially on short-haul (flights), this will really differentiate us from our competitors.”

The shift to Starlink

BA has yet to reveal when Starlink will be available across its entire fleet.

Its siblings in the IAG group – Aer Lingus, Iberia, Level and Vueling – will also come online with Starlink, although it's been reported that IAG has struck a deal with Starlink to permit low-cost carriers Level and Vueling to charge for the service.

BA’s rival Virgin Atlantic will launch its own Starlink flights before the year is out.

Other airlines to embrace Starlink include Air France, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines, Lufthansa, United Airlines, Qatar Airways, SAS and Swiss.

Review: Qatar Airways’ superfast Starlink Wi-Fi