American Airlines Just Picked a Side in the Wi-Fi War

The closing frame of the video American Airlines posted on X to announce Starlink across its mainline fleet. Credit: American Airlines/X

American Airlines will install SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet on every jet in its mainline fleet, more than 1,000 Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies and widebodies, with work starting in early 2027, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier announced Thursday.

That roughly doubles the commitment American made in May, when it picked Starlink for more than 500 Airbus narrowbodies, including incoming A321neo and A321XLR deliveries. The expanded plan pulls in American’s Boeing narrowbodies and, for the first time, the widebody jets that fly its long-haul routes. Here’s the fleet American says is getting it:

• Airbus narrowbodies: 500+
• Boeing narrowbodies: 400+
• Boeing widebodies: 130+
• Total mainline fleet: 1,030+

Every one of those jets will carry Starlink’s Performance Aero Terminal, which the airline says can deliver up to 1 Gbps per terminal. American says that will make it one of the largest Starlink-connected fleets in the world, and the base keeps growing, with more than 300 new mainline aircraft due in the coming years. More than 165 million customers fly on a mainline American jet each year.

“Our customers have told us that dependable connectivity can make a meaningful difference in how they spend their time in the air,” said Heather Garboden, American’s chief customer officer. “Whether they are livestreaming a favorite show, gaming, collaborating in real time on an important work deal, scrolling social media or online shopping, Starlink will give our customers countless options to make the most of their time while traveling.”

Lauren Dreyer, vice president of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX, said passengers “will have fast, reliable internet from gate to gate, whether they are streaming, working, or staying connected to family and friends throughout their travel.”

American posted a short launch video on X, and Starlink quoted it a couple of minutes later. When a follower asked about timing, American’s social team replied that installs start in the first quarter of 2027.

As recently as December, American CEO Robert Isom confirmed to Bloomberg that the airline had held talks with Amazon about its rival Leo satellite network, saying, “While there’s Starlink, there are other low-Earth-orbit satellite opportunities that we can look at.” Delta went that way instead, signing with Amazon in March to install Leo on an initial 500 aircraft beginning in 2028, and Elon Musk, replying to a post about Delta having no Starlink jets, has since predicted that Delta “will lose a lot of customers.”

American’s free Wi-Fi today runs on jets fitted with Viasat and Intelsat satellite systems, a perk AAdvantage members have had since January in a deal sponsored by AT&T, available on all of its Airbus A319, A320 and A321 jets, every Boeing 737, select 787s and most regional aircraft.

United, the U.S. carrier furthest along, said in February it had fitted more than 300 two-cabin regional jets, and it had Starlink on more than 400 planes by June, when it flew its first Starlink-equipped widebody across the Atlantic. Alaska Airlines’ public tracker showed 38% of its fleet connected as of Sept. 25, with Hawaiian’s A330 and A321neo fleets already finished. Frontier says its first Starlink aircraft enters service in early 2027.

In Canada, WestJet signed on in 2024 to become the first commercial Boeing 737 airline to offer Starlink, free to WestJet Rewards members through Telus. It passed 100 equipped 737s in October 2025, with its widebodies planned by the end of this year.

American didn’t give a completion date in Thursday’s release or say how many jets it expects to finish per year, and it didn’t say which fleet goes first beyond May’s focus on the Airbus narrowbodies. It also didn’t say whether the free AAdvantage Wi-Fi sponsored by AT&T carries over to Starlink, what happens to the existing Viasat and Intelsat hardware, or what the deal is worth. American Eagle regional jets aren’t mentioned at all, and neither are the airline’s flights to and from Canada, so anyone flying American across the border shouldn’t expect a specific date yet.

American is marking its 100th year in 2026, and Thursday’s move is meant to take Wi-Fi off the list of reasons a frequent flyer might book United instead. The catch is time. United is already flying Starlink on hundreds of jets, while American’s first installs are still months away and its last one doesn’t have a date.