Air France has launched its free inflight high-speed wifi using Starlink from SpaceX.
This new service is completely free in all travel cabins.
It can be accessed via smartphones, tablets and laptops, and supports connecting multiple devices simultaneously.
Passengers can access the service by logging in to their Flying Blue account, the Air France-KLM group’s frequent flyer programme. Those without a Flying Blue account can create an account directly on board for free in just a few clicks.
It is already available on two Embraer 190 and two Airbus A220. A fifth aircraft, an Airbus A350, is getting the system this week.
Air France plans to offer the service on 30% of its fleet by the end of 2025 and throughout its fleet by the end of 2026, including regional aircraft.
During this transitional period, the company will continue to offer an inflight internet connection on board aircraft not yet equipped with high-speed wifi – a free “messaging” pass for Flying Blue members and a paid option for other passengers.
Air France is the first European airline to offer such a service on board. It announced the Starlink plan in September 2024, so delivery is running very well.
Starlink
To provide the service, Air France has partnered with Starlink from SpaceX.
Starlink offers high-speed, low-latency internet, powered by a vast network of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to provide reliable inflight connectivity.
SpaceX’s Starlink is the leader in the LEO race.
About 1,000 commercial aircraft were equipped with Starlink’s service in July, doubling its footprint in just five months.
Starlink now has deals for inflight wifi with:
- airBaltic
- Alaska Airlines
- Air France
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- JSX
- SAS
- WestJet
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- ZIPAIR
Amazon Project Kuiper
Project Kuiper is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network.
It recently announced that JetBlue will be its first airline user.
Editor’s note: There doesn’t seem to be a standard for using hyphens in terminology. So, we have now started phasing out hyphens. So we now use wifi not wi-fi or Wi-Fi, inflight instead of in-flight etc.
