Virgin Atlantic signs deal to use Musk's Starlink for fleet Wi-Fi

By Kate Duffy  Virgin Atlantic Airways announced a deal with SpaceX’s Starlink to overhaul the onboard Wi-Fi across its entire fleet, making it the first UK carrier to strike a deal with Elon Musk’s company. 

The British long-haul carrier will start installing Starlink on its aircraft next year and expects to finish the full retrofit by the end of 2027.

 

The service will be free for Flying Club members to use across multiple devices, Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Officer Shai Weiss and Chief Experience Officer Siobhan Fitzpatrick said at an event in London on Tuesday. Weiss declined to say how much the deal was worth, adding that it was “a lot.”

 

Virgin Atlantic told Bloomberg earlier this year Starlink was one of the internet service providers in consideration, along with Amazon.com Inc.’s Project Kuiper and Viasat Inc.

 

“Right now, there’s only one solution. It is Starlink,” Weiss said. 

 

Among the announcements on Tuesday was a refurbishment of all of Virgin’s Boeing Co. 787 cabins by the end of the decade, which will increase the number of upper class and premium seats onboard. In addition, ten of the carrier’s new Airbus SE A330s joining the fleet starting in the third quarter of 2026 will have larger premium cabins and four extra retreat suites, the airline said.

 

Premium demand 

The bar, a popular feature on Virgin’s aircraft, will be phased out on the 787s by 2030 with the addition of retreat suites, Weiss said.

 

“There’s a fundamental demand for premium travel,” he said. “We believe we have a tremendous amount of growth.”

 

Virgin previously warned of a slight softness in demand from the US following President Donald Trump’s economic policies and the resulting uncertainty. Weiss said there were signs of improvement but it wasn’t dramatic and the airline is “tapering our expectations to be more flat year over year.” Meanwhile, UK demand is “relatively robust,” he said.

 

Other announcements made on Tuesday included refurbishments of the airline’s London and New York Clubhouses, a new app and an extension of Virgin’s loyalty program to less-frequent flyers.