Qatar Airways Makes the Move to Starlink for IFC Service

Photo: Qatar Airways

Starlink continues to makes it presence felt in the in-flight connectivity (IFC) arena with a landmark contract win in the Middle East. Qatar Airways, one of the largest airlines in the Middle East, has selected Starlink to improve its connectivity services to customers. Qatar Airways announced the deal on Oct. 13.

Qatar Airways and Starlink are currently in the pre-launch phase of the rollout strategy across Qatar Airways fleet. It perhaps represents Starlink’s most significant contract yet with an airline. Starlink is already working with the likes of JSX, Hawaiian Airlines, airBaltic, and ZIPAIR, and rolled out the Starlink Aviation service last year.

Once the service is active, passengers will be able to use Wi-Fi speeds of up to 350 Mbps which can be used for a variety of internet-based services such as video streaming, gaming, enriched web-browsing and much more.

“With Starlink set to support the entire Qatar Airways fleet, passengers traveling between over 160 destinations around the world will be able to stay connected with the most advance high-speed internet service from space. In fact, as soon as passengers step onboard the plane the internet works seamlessly throughout their flight from gate to gate, and all from the comfort of their seats,” Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink Commercial Sales, said in a statement.