ANOTHER airline has announced that it will have free Wi-Fi on board its planes from this week.
Emirates, which was voted by Sun readers as their favourite airline of year, in the Sun Travel Awards 2025, will soon feature Starlink on board its planes.
Starlink Wi-Fi is beamed down to Earth from satellites and will make in-flight internet up to 50 times faster than normal.
This means it will allow passengers on board Emirates flights to stream content, game, make calls, work and browse social media.
The airline will introduce the Wi-Fi on 232 of its planes, which is the airline’s entire in-service fleet.
In fact, the first Emirates flight with Starlink is set to take off later this week, with the airline then fitting out around 14 aircraft per month.
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Initially, Emirates’ Boeing 777 will be the first aircraft in the fleet to get Starlink and roll-out is expected to be complete by mid-2027.
The airline is then aiming to install Starlink beginning on the Airbus A380 fleet in February next year.
Emirates is also set to make live TV available via Starlink, which will initially be on personal devices before launching on seatback screens from late December 2025.
The Starlink Wi-Fi services will be free across all Emirates flights, no matter what cabin you are in.
Access requires one click and there is no payment or membership needed for using Starlink.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “We’re introducing the world’s fastest Wi-Fi, elevating what passengers can expect from in-flight connectivity, like seamless productivity, real-time communication with loved ones, and uninterrupted connection to their digital lives.
“But that’s just one piece of the transformation happening across our fleet.
“Starlink is being installed in tandem with the most ambitious cabin refurbishment programme in aviation including brand new Premium Economy cabins, an enhanced Business Class, refreshed First Class, expanded and upgraded entertainment system technologies, and now, industry-leading connectivity.”
Chad Gibbs, VP of Starlink Business Operations, SpaceX, said: “With Starlink onboard your Emirates flight, you’ll be able to stream, game, and have seamless video calls, just as you can do on the ground.
“We’re excited to transform Emirates’ travel experience and support the rapid installation of Starlink while maintaining focus on delivering overall quality of service.”
Emirates isn’t the first airline to introduce Starlink on its flights.
At the beginning of this month, British Airways also confirmed it would be launching Starlink on board all its planes next year.
BA boss Sean Doyle, British Airways said: “Launching Starlink on both our long-haul and short-haul aircraft is game-changing for us and our customers, elevating their experience on board our flights by offering them seamless connectivity from gate to gate.
“Especially on short-haul, this will really differentiate us from our competitors.”
Back in March, United Airlines also confirmed that they would be adding the free Wi-Fi service to more than 40 aircraft.
And Qatar Airways completed its installation of Starlink onboard its flights back in July – they even FaceTimed a flight attendant to show how fast it will be.
How does Starlink work?
SPACEX explains how Starlink works…
“Most satellite internet services come from single geostationary satellites that orbit the planet at 35,786 km,” SpaceX said.
“As a result, the round trip data time between the user and satellite – also known as latency – is high.
“Making it nearly impossible to support streaming, online gaming, video calls or other high data rate activities.
“Starlink is a constellation of thousands of satellites that orbit the planet much closer to Earth, at about 550km, and cover the entire globe.
“Because Starlink satellites are in a low orbit, latency is significantly lower—around 25 ms vs 600+ ms.”
In other aviation news, a budget airline has slashed flights from a major UK airport in a scramble to cut costs.
Plus, a major airline with bunk beds onboard reveals plans to relaunch UK flights for the first time in five years.