A Starlink terminal installed on a Hawaiian Airlines aircraft.
Hawaiian Airlines
PARIS — SpaceX nearly doubled its backlog of orders for Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi last week. United Airlines Company directors spoke about the deal on Tuesday.
“We’re very excited to now have contracts for approximately 2,500 aircraft and believe we have gone from being essentially a startup to being a growing company that will resonate with passengers and airlines around the world,” Nick Galano, SpaceX’s director of Starlink aviation sales and partnerships, said during a panel discussion at the World Space Business Week conference in Paris.
The satellite internet division of Elon Musk’s space company is getting into the in-flight internet connectivity (IFC) market, with United Airlines announcing last week that it will equip more than 1,000 of its planes with Starlink and offer free Wi-Fi.
The major United deal marks Starlink’s largest IFC deal to date, and it will also force United’s four existing WiFi providers out of the equation. ViasatPanasonic, Thales, Go go Starlink is expected to be installed on the airline’s aircraft within the next few years.
SpaceX previously announced the onboard deal. Hawaiian AirlinesQatar Airways, Japan’s Zipair, Latvia’s airBaltic and semi-private charter airline JSX.
SpaceX has been steadily expanding its Starlink network and product offerings since its debut in 2020. The company initially targeted consumers but is now expanding into other markets, including enterprise services such as aviation and maritime.
According to the company, there are currently approximately 6,400 Starlink satellites in orbit, connecting more than 3 million customers in 100 countries.
Galano touted “the incredible capacity we can provide” through Starlink, noting that the current constellation “now has over 300 terabits per second of capacity,” which he said is “probably over 100 times the capacity that any legacy system has ever provided.”
SpaceX also continues to increase its capacity, launching a rocket carrying a new Starlink satellite about every three days on average this year, according to the company.
Nick Galano (center), SpaceX’s director of Starlink aviation sales and partnerships, speaks at the World Space Business Week conference in Paris on September 17, 2024.
CNBC | Michael Sheets
Galano also emphasized that SpaceX is trying to shorten the time it takes to install new antennas on aircraft, a process known as refurbishing, which has been a headache for airlines because it requires planes to be grounded for several days to upgrade or replace their satellite communications systems.
“We’re trying to simplify the installation of these facilities. We use the word innovation, but we’re trying to do it in less than a day. We’ve proven this with Hawaiian Airlines and the JSX fleet,” Galano said.
In comparison, Delta Airlines Glenn Latta, Delta’s managing director of in-flight entertainment and connectivity, said retrofitting a satellite IFC takes “about three days on average.” But Latta said Delta’s process, which requires retrofitting 1,200 planes, is more intensive than installing Starlink on Hawaiian Airlines’ 66 planes as of mid-2024, according to securities filings.
“For us, a retrofit is a removal of the existing system, then an installation,” Latta told CNBC after a panel discussion at the conference. “(Hawaiian) has never installed a satellite communications system, so that’s one of the differences to consider.”
Delta Air Lines, which uses Viasat for its in-flight service, said it would offer free Wi-Fi to its frequent flyer program members in early 2023. Latta said the decision has proven worthwhile for the airline, as both Delta and United are vying for high-end customers.
“By offering free Internet access, we were able to attract an additional 3 million SkyMiles members as part of our loyalty program,” Latta said.
—CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this article.

