Starlink’s in-flight capabilities were demonstrated aboard a private jet, after SpaceX failed to garner deals with other major commercial airline companies.
SpaceX held a demo for its in-flight Wi-Fi aboard a JSX private jet last week, as reported by Bloomberg over the weekend (via Business Insider).
The one-hour flight took place from Burbank to San Jose, California and showed off Starlink’s in-flight Wi-Fi using apps such as Netflix and YouTube and a video chat — all from 30,000 feet in the air.
Attendees reported speeds of over 100 Mbps, though some question if the speeds would have been slower with multiple users actively connected in-flight. Still though, speeds of 100 Mbps while flying in an airplane are impressive, compared to traditional in-flight Wi-Fi that’s usually very slow.
SpaceX Starlink Internet to Reach 70% of Canada ‘Later this Year’ https://t.co/LhiQXLzrP6
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) September 19, 2022
The news came after Delta and at least three other major airlines passed on signing a deal with SpaceX.
Starlink was approved for use on moving boats, planes and trucks at the end of June, and it has since made a handful of deals with transportation and mobile companies.
SpaceX has signed deals with jet carrier JSX and Hawaiian Airlines for in-flight Wi-Fi, even working with some cruise liners. The company also debuted its Starlink RV service for use in ground vehicles, in addition to signing a contract with T-Mobile to improve mobile connectivity in dead zones.
On Wednesday, Musk replied to a Teslarati story about the demo, saying “with some improvements, it will achieve 300 [Mbps].” It’s unclear if and when this will happen.
With some improvements, it will achieve 300 Mps
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 21, 2022
There are over 400,000 active Starlink users across the globe, using SpaceX’s more than 2,500 orbital satellites to connect to the internet.
