Frontier Airlines to add Starlink Wi-Fi starting in early 2027

Frontier Airlines announced Tuesday it volition present in-flight Wi-Fi utilizing SpaceX's Starlink outer net service, with the archetypal equipped craft acceptable to rotation retired successful aboriginal 2027.

Frontier is 1 of 5 airlines successful the portfolio of backstage equity steadfast Indigo Partners that program to follow Starlink. The others are European bearer Wizz Air, Mexico's Volaris, Chile's JetSmart, and the Philippines' Cebu Pacific. Together, the 5 carriers expect to instal Starlink connected much than 1,000 aircraft, the institution said.

"Starlink transforms the onboard experience, giving customers the flexibility to work, stream, browse, and enactment connected passim their journey," Frontier Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Dempsey said successful a statement. Indigo Partners Managing Partner Bill Franke said the woody would bring "reliable, high-speed connectivity" to the 5 portfolio airlines.

Frontier did not disclose pricing presumption for passengers oregon fiscal presumption of the deal, according to CNBC. A Frontier spokeswoman would not corroborate to CNBC whether passengers would person entree to the work astatine nary cost; airlines with existing Starlink agreements person mostly made Wi-Fi disposable without complaint to members of their loyalty programs.

Beyond rider connectivity, Starlink volition supply gate-to-gate connectivity for Frontier's pilots, formation attendants, attraction teams, and crushed operations, the institution said.

Frontier had agelong been a notable holdout among U.S. airlines connected in-flight Wi-Fi, according to the outlet, which reported that erstwhile CEO Barry Biffle had pointed to the added value of the indispensable hardware arsenic a obstruction to adoption. The Starlink announcement follows Frontier's planned instauration of first-class seating adjacent twelvemonth and caller changes to its loyalty program.

The statement further cements Starlink's vantage implicit Amazon's competing outer net offering arsenic the 2 providers vie for hose partnerships. As American Airlines announced successful May, it volition instal Starlink connected much than 500 of its Airbus narrowbody craft starting successful aboriginal 2027. United Airlines and Southwest Airlines person besides committed to Starlink, portion Delta Air Lines chose Amazon's work successful March, according to Bloomberg. Starlink has signed deals with much than 40 carriers globally.

Not each fund carriers are pursuing suit. Reuters reports that Ryanair and EasyJet person pushed backmost connected the disbursal of equipping planes with connectivity, underscoring a wider manufacture question astir whether the gross upside of specified amenities tin offset their costs for carriers operating connected bladed margins.