Summary
American Airlines plans to begin installing Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire mainline fleet in early 2027. The rollout covers more than 1,000 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
American Airlines plans to install Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire mainline fleet, with installations beginning in early 2027. The rollout covers more than 1,000 Airbus and Boeing narrowbody and widebody aircraft. American says each will be equipped with Starlink’s Performance Aero Terminal, which the company says can deliver speeds of up to 1 Gbps per terminal.
From an Airbus rollout to the full fleet
The announcement expands an earlier plan to install Starlink on more than 500 Airbus aircraft. American’s current mainline fleet includes Airbus narrowbodies, Boeing narrowbodies and Boeing widebodies:
| Fleet group | Aircraft |
|---|---|
| Airbus narrowbodies | 500+ |
| Boeing narrowbodies | 400+ |
| Boeing widebodies | 130+ |
| Total mainline fleet | 1,030+ |
American says more than 165 million customers fly on its mainline aircraft each year. Extending the installation across all three fleet groups is intended to give passengers a more consistent connectivity service across the airline’s network.
How the onboard connection works
Starlink uses a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. An aircraft-mounted terminal provides the satellite link, while passengers connect through the aircraft’s onboard Wi-Fi. American says the service will be available from gate to gate and is intended for activities including messaging, email, streaming and online work.
The stated figure of up to 1 Gbps is a per-terminal capability, not a published speed for each passenger’s device. Actual passenger experience depends on how the aircraft’s connection is shared and on conditions during use.
Installations are scheduled to start in early 2027. American has not given a timetable for completing the fleet-wide rollout.