Photo: Lufthansa Group

Germany’s national airline Lufthansa Group will roll out SpaceX‘s Starlink in-flight connectivity across all fleets for all airlines under the umbrella. The airline said the deal announced Tuesday makes it the largest airline group in Europe to adopt Starlink. 

Lufthansa Group said a “gradual introduction” of Starlink will begin this year, with Starlink to be deployed on around 850 aircraft overall, including the existing fleet and all new aircraft. The rollout is targeted for completion by 2029. 

Lufthansa Group includes Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways and Eurowings, whose results are also reported individually.

“The Lufthansa Group is taking the next step and setting an essential milestone for the premium travel experience of our customers. Connectivity on board plays an important role today, and with Starlink, we are not only investing in the best product on the market, but also in the satisfaction of our passengers,” said Dieter Vranckx, chief commercial officer of the Lufthansa Group.

The service will be free of charge for status customers across all travel classes. 

Lufthansa Group has worked with Panasonic Avonics and Viasat for in-flight connectivity. A number of Lufthansa Group aircraft are equipped with the European Aviation Network (EAN) in-flight connectivity (IFC) solution from Viasat for short-haul aircraft that combines S-band satellite coverage with a ground component network operated by Deutsche Telekom.