American Airlines said Thursday it will install Starlink Wi-Fi across more than 1,000 mainline aircraft beginning in early 2027.
The announcement was made on Thursday, October 8, 2026. American's revised plan is more than twice the size of its earlier commitment, which covered around 500 aircraft.
American first disclosed the Starlink plan in May 2026. That version was limited to about 500 Airbus narrowbody jets.
The new rollout adds Boeing narrowbodies and Boeing widebodies to the Airbus narrowbodies already included. It therefore reaches all of American's major aircraft groups except its regional fleet.
The commitment covers American's mainline fleet
The term mainline refers here to American's large fleet of more than 1,000 aircraft. One fleet count lists 1,037 aircraft, including active and inactive planes, while the broader descriptions in the announcement put the total above 1,000.
American's mainline fleet averages 12.6 years old, and the airline has another 276 jets on order. More than 165 million annual customers should be able to use the satellite Wi-Fi during flights.
The Airbus narrowbody group includes A319, A320, A321, A321neo and A321XLR aircraft. The Boeing narrowbody group includes 737 MAX 8 and 737-800 aircraft, with orders for some 115 737 MAX 10s.
American's widebody fleet is made up entirely of Boeing aircraft. It includes 777-200ER, 777-300ER, 787-8 and 787-9 jets, with orders for another 19 787-9s.
The oldest twin-aisle aircraft are the 47 777-200ERs, which have an average age of 25.9 years. The 20 777-300ERs average 12.7 years, while the 37 787-8s average 8.4 years and the 33 787-9s average 6.5 years.
The Starlink change should improve connectivity on American's Boeing 787 and 777 aircraft used on long international routes. Many of those planes still use legacy Panasonic service and often experience connectivity gaps.
American's regional aircraft are the only group left outside the Starlink commitment after this week's announcement.
The aircraft terminal links cabins to Starlink
American said the Starlink Performance Aero Terminal can provide speeds of up to 1 Gbps per terminal. The terminal is the equipment installed on an aircraft that connects the cabin with the Starlink service.
The stated figure is a system maximum, not a promise that every passenger will receive that speed. Actual access for passengers can differ from the terminal's maximum capacity.
Connectivity is expected to remain free for members of American's AAdvantage loyalty programme. American says its customers should receive faster and more reliable satellite Wi-Fi in the air.
Starlink will give our customers countless options to make the most of their time while traveling. Just as importantly, it provides the foundation for future innovations that will further enhance the customer experience.
Garboden also linked the decision to what passengers have asked for.
Our customers have told us that dependable connectivity can make a meaningful difference in how they spend their time in the air,
United is using Starlink, while Delta and JetBlue chose Amazon Leo
United Airlines is the closest U.S. comparison. It is retrofitting more than 20 aircraft a week and has a target of 1,000 Starlink installations by 2027.
Starlink is already operating on 724 United aircraft, or around 41 percent of the airline's fleet.
| Airline | Connectivity plan | Timing or status |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | Starlink | Installations begin in the first quarter of 2027 |
| United Airlines | Starlink | 724 aircraft already running the service |
| Delta Air Lines | Amazon Leo | Expected to debut in 2028 |
| JetBlue | Amazon Leo | Plans to use the service in the future |
Delta Air Lines selected Amazon Leo for its next generation of inflight Wi-Fi, with the service expected to debut in 2028. JetBlue has also chosen Amazon Leo for future use on its aircraft.
The wider rollout includes 48 airlines that have partnered with Starlink. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines are well into installing the technology, while Hawaiian Airlines has offered it on its Airbus fleet for several years.
So far in 2026, plans to put Starlink on their aircraft have been announced by American, Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
It remains unclear how the competing Starlink and Amazon Leo airline plans will perform against one another.
Installations are due to start in early 2027
- May 2026Initial plan
American announces Starlink for about 500 Airbus narrowbody jets.
- 8 October 2026Expansion
American extends the commitment to more than 1,000 mainline aircraft.
- First quarter of 2027Installations begin
Work is scheduled to start across the covered mainline fleet.
The first installations are scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. The pack does not provide a final date for completing American's Starlink installations.
