Super-fast internet is coming to British Airways.
In a surprise announcement, BA confirmed that Starlink will be installed on its planes starting from 2026. It’s a significant move, as Virgin had already announced its own Starlink rollout. For business passengers, it’s going to be a game-changer: super-fast internet with low lag, and the possibility of having a Zoom meeting whilst in the air.
Updated March 2026
About BA and Starlink
In late 2025, British Airways announced that it would start rolling out Starlink in 2026. Qatar has already rolled out Starlink across all its 777s, fitting it to 100 aircraft in just over a year. The typical download speed delivered by Starlink is significantly higher than most other connectivity options.
The service will be offered for free. I’ve heard that this is not necessarily down to the generosity of the airline (Qatar offers it for free, too) but rather it’s at Starlink’s request.
I find BA’s onboard wifi to be reasonable. It is not fast, but it’s possible to work in the sky and communicate. It is not fast enough to stream video, whereas Starlink is. It’s well-priced on long-haul flights. Compared to some airlines’ connectivity options, it is actually one of the better ones.
It’s not just about the connectivity on individual devices, but also within the in-flight entertainment screens. Live TV is already offered on some planes (Qatar being one), and the hope is that having Starlink on board will allow BA to launch live TV channels.
Virgin managed to announce its Starlink agreement before BA, but its rollout is expected to start in late 2026 and be completed by 2027. It’s likely that BA will become the first carrier to have Starlink installed and usable.
Which BA planes have Starlink on?
Update: Starlink has been certified on the A320 family (the A319, A320, A321) by the UK’s CAA. That certification is required for the kit to be installed on those planes. It does not mean that they will be the first in BA’s fleet to have Starlink.
Update: The rollout will begin with BA’s 787-8 fleet. They have twelve of those planes, all with Club Suites, and all fly from Heathrow. They usually operate to second-tier US cities, as well as to Abu Dhab, Toronto, Jeddah and Riyadh. These planes are smaller than the 777’s, or the 787-9 or 787-10, so the busiest BA routes will not see Starlink first.
Update: On the 19th March 2026, the first Starlink-enabled BA flight will take off, a 787-8 will be flying to Houston.
BA’s press release in 2025 did not specify which planes will be upgraded with Starlink. We now know that the first type will be the 787-8.
A good guess will be that the long-haul aircraft will get the service first. Certification plays a part, which is the process of the relevant authorities approving the required changes to the plane. Given that the 777 and the A350 have already been certified, they would be an obvious choice to start with.
BA operate 59 777s (with 24 on order) and 18 A350S (with a further 9 on order).
Whilst their A380 is due to undergo a significant refurbishment in 2026 (with the new First Suite, and changing all older Club World seats to Club Suites), no operator has yet installed Starlink on that plane type. Emirates is due to begin its own Starlink rollout in early 2026; however, it has already started with the 777 fleet.
How to tell if your flight has Starlink?
Once BA confirms which plane types will have Starlink, it’ll likely be a case of checking to see which plane you are actually flying in to see if there’s a possibility of it being onboard. As the rollout progresses, it will be easier to determine if you will have Starlink.
Qatar do a good job of highlighting which flights will have Starlink. You can see this when you book a flight, as they will add a small piece of text on each flight signifying if Starlink will be on board. You can see this in the screenshot below: the 787 flight from Gatwick does not have Starlink as the airline has not started the rollout on that plane type yet. The two flights from Heathrow are on 777s and you can see if they have Starlink.
How fast will Starlink be?
The speed you get will vary based on Starlink’s own connectivity and usage levels on the plane itself. Real-life speed tests vary, but I have seen people getting 150mb/s download and 25 mb/s upload. That’s comparable to a cheaper fibre broadband at home, but it’s incredibly fast for a plane.
It’s at a level where you can stream high-definition TV, or even, controversially, have a video call. Latency is also reasonable, with users reporting less than 100ms.
What will the Starlink coverage be like on British Airways?
Starlink has over 10,000 low-orbit satellites covering the globe; however, the service is not available while flying over certain countries. These include:
- Belarus
- China
- India
- North Korea
- Northern Cyprus
- Russia
While you may not be heading to China or India, you may fly over it. If that is the case, your Starlink connection will drop until you leave their airspace
How many devices can you use with BA’s Starlink?
British Airways’s current connectivity setup means that you have to pay for multiple devices if you want them connected at the same time. You can swap a connection between devices if you want to move from one to another, but it’s fiddly.
With Starlink, you’ll be able to connect every device you want.
Will the in-cabin experience get worse?
There’s a lot of chatter about how Starlink will lead to situations on planes. This was also a perceived issue when wifi was first added to flights, but most non-Starlink connections are so slow that it was near impossible to have a video call, or even a voice call. Streaming video was also difficult due to the low bandwidth.
Starlink removes the speed limitation, meaning that you can use TikTok, have a video call, or stream Netflix. That could be a headache for the airlines, as passengers could become noisier, and other passengers could become frustrated.
Ultimately, it’s up to the airline to police passenger behaviour, and they are well aware of the potential issues. On the BA Starlink webpage, they already remind passengers of the (common sense) rules: you can make calls, but use headphones and keep your voice low. When you’re watching video or listening to audio, use your headphones.
The reality is that we’re going to see, or even experience ourselves, situations where other passengers don’t abide by the rules. It happens already on land-based public transport, and there are plenty of reports of noisy video calls taking place in airport lounges. It’s going to mean more work for the cabin crew as they try to make sure disruption is kept to a minimum.
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