SpaceX’s Starlink internet service continues to make inroads around the globe.
Starlink provided Wi-Fi on a Boeing 777 jet for the first time today (Oct. 22), during a Qatar Airways flight from the Qatari capital of Doha to London.
The 777 is the “largest and longest-range passenger aircraft equipped with Starlink to date,” SpaceX representatives said in an emailed statement today.
#QatarAirways launches the world’s first Boeing 777 Starlink-equipped flight. @StarlinkWe are proud to be the airline that leads the way, setting new standards in the airline industry. ✈️#QatarAirwaysStarlink pic.twitter.com/347ZnclANbOctober 22, 2024
Qatar Airways marked the milestone with a press release that was sent down to Earth during the flight using Starlink. According the release, the airline will equip its entire 777 fleet with Starlink service — which will be free for passengers — in 2025.
Related: Starlink satellites: Facts, tracking and impact on astronomy
Qatar Airways also posted on YouTube a video call that its CEO, Badr Mohammed Al Meer, held with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk during the flight, again using Starlink service.
The Doha-based carrier isn’t the only airline that has signed a Starlink service contract: SpaceX has also inked deals with United Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and airBaltic, among others.
SpaceX currently operates more than 6,400 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. That’s an impressive number to be sure, but it’s bound to keep growing; the megaconstellation could eventually swell to 40,000 or so.
“This is the minimum, and it only gets better from here,” Musk said during Monday’s video call with Al Meer.