airBaltic to equip entire
fleet with SpaceX’s Starlink
Latvian airline airBaltic
announced that it will equip its entire Airbus
A220-300 fleet with SpaceX’s Starlink internet
connectivity system. Every passenger will benefit
from complimentary, in-flight high-speed internet
access during all airBaltic flights without hassles
or login pages. From the moment passengers walk onto
the plane, they’ll have access to the internet.
Developed by SpaceX, Starlink
provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet
in over 40 countries and counting around the world
and began serving commercial aircraft last year with
in-flight high-speed internet. With satellites
positioned in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 550
km, over 65 times closer than conventional
geostationary satellites, Starlink achieves
significantly lower latency and higher transmission
speeds for its end users. Starlink can deliver up to
350 Mbps to aircraft, and with latency as low as 20
ms, passengers can engage in activities previously
not functional in flight, including online gaming,
virtual private networks, and other high data rate
activities.
Martin Gauss, Chief Executive
Officer of airBaltic: “This marks a historic moment
for our airline and the industry as a whole. Soon
airBaltic will become the first airline in Europe to
launch high-speed, unlimited, and free-of-charge
satellite internet on board. We are excited to
further improve our service to our passengers who
will soon benefit from this internet connectivity
onboard our flights within the airBaltic network in
Europe and beyond.”
“We are glad to have found the
right connectivity provider – SpaceX’s Starlink –
that fits our needs and meets our wishes. Having the
most modern aircraft type on the market, it was the
next logical step for airBaltic to implement the
most modern available inflight internet solution on
this fleet,” Martin Gauss added.
“By becoming the first European
airline to implement Starlink fleetwide, airBaltic
is setting a new standard in ensuring its passengers
have an internet experience that they have come to
expect in our modern age,” said SpaceX Vice
President of Starlink Sales Jonathan Hofeller. “With
Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet,
airBaltic passengers will have internet similar to
or better than what they experience at home.
Customers will walk on the plane and the internet
will simply work, making the stress of login pages
and downloading large files before takeoff a thing
of the past.”
airBaltic will work with SpaceX
to achieve the required STC (supplemental type
certification) approval and is expected to begin
installing the product on the entire airBaltic
Airbus A220-300 fleet this year.
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