Qatar Airways has officially taken to the skies with the world’s first Boeing 777 passenger flight equipped with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet. The milestone flight, which travelled from Doha to London, marks a massive shift in how travellers connect while in the air.
Passengers on board the upgraded widebody jet now have access to ultra-high-speed, low-latency internet from gate to gate, completely free of charge. The satellite-powered connection delivers speeds of up to 500 Mbps per aircraft, allowing travellers to stream live sports, play online games, and make seamless video calls from 35,000 feet. To demonstrate the network’s capability, Qatar Airways executives even placed a live video call to Elon Musk directly from the cruising aircraft, even taking him to the cockpit.
The successful launch makes Qatar Airways the first carrier in the Middle East and North Africa region to offer the space-backed connectivity solution. Following a rapid installation programme that saw engineers cut aircraft retrofit times down to under 10 hours, the airline has already completed the Starlink rollout across its entire fleet of 54 Boeing 777 aircraft ahead of schedule. Qatar Airways is now turning its attention to its Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleets, aiming to bring the next-generation internet service to more global routes over the coming year.
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