airBaltic to Offer Free High-Speed In-Flight Internet to Every Passenger

Dark/Light Mode (12/01/23)  The Latvian airline airBaltic has unveiled plans to equip its entire Airbus A220-300 fleet with SpaceX’s Starlink internet connectivity system.

The deal means that every passenger will benefit from complimentary, in-flight high-speed internet access during every airBaltic flight without hassles or login pages. From the moment passengers walk onto the plane, they’ll have access to the internet.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic, said, “This marks a historic moment for our airline and the industry as a whole. Soon airBaltic will become the first airline in Europe to launch high-speed, unlimited and free-of-charge satellite internet on board. We are excited to further improve our service to our passengers who will soon benefit from this internet connectivity onboard our flights within the airBaltic network in Europe and beyond.”

Inside an airBaltic A220-300. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

Developed by SpaceX, Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet in over 40 countries around the world and began serving commercial aircraft last year with in-flight high-speed internet.

With satellites positioned in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 550 km, over 65 times closer than conventional geostationary satellites, Starlink achieves significantly lower latency and higher transmission speeds for its end users.

Starlink can deliver up to 350 Mbps to aircraft, and with latency as low as 20 ms passengers can engage in activities previously not functional in flight, including online gaming, virtual private networks and other high data rate activities.

“By becoming the first European airline to implement Starlink fleetwide, airBaltic is setting a new standard in ensuring its passengers have an internet experience that they have come to expect in our modern age,” said SpaceX Vice President of Starlink Sales, Jonathan Hofeller. “With Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet, airBaltic passengers will have internet similar to or better than what they experience at home. Customers will walk on the plane and the internet will simply work, making the stress of login pages and downloading large files before takeoff a thing of the past.”

airBaltic is now working with SpaceX to achieve the required STC (supplemental type certification) approval and is expected to begin installing the product on the entire airBaltic Airbus A220-300 fleet this year.

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