Southwest Airlines’ first Starlink-equipped aircraft is now in service

Southwest Airlines‘ first aircraft equipped with SpaceX Starlink inflight WiFi has officially taken to the skies.

Flying from Dallas to Albuquerque on 22 June, it’s the first of many Southwest aircraft to offer the super fast, low Earth orbit WiFi. Eventually, the airline plans to install this technology across the entire fleet, although not necessarily all with the SpaceX solution.

“Starlink delivers a new era of inflight connectivity to Southwest,” said Tony Roach, Chief Customer & Brand Officer. “This ultra-fast WiFi brings an at-home experience to the air and redefines how Customers can stay connected, be productive, and make the most of their time while flying at 35,000 feet.” 

On the back of the first aircraft entering into service, Southwest has scheduled something of a US tour with the jet, travelling to six different cities across the US over the next 24 hours.

Southwest takes its Starlink-equipped Boeing 737 on a US tour

The Boeing 737-800, tail number N8543Z, first flew with Starlink yesterday, 22 June. It took two return trips from Dallas that day: to Albuquerque (ABQ) and Midland (MAF).

Today, it seems to be making a tour of the USA, likely showing off the technology to journalists, influencers and stakeholders.

Having flown back from Midland early this morning, N8543FZ took off from Dallas for Boston at 08:17 this morning. At the time of writing, it is over Ohio and should arrive around 12:25.

From there, it will fly to Chicago, Ontario, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and finally Orlando. The published schedule is below:

The route is quite the tour of the USA, touching the East Coast, the West Coast and all the way down to Florida. Almost certainly, we’ll begin to see the reviews, inflight videos and livestreams emerging soon enough.

Southwest targets a full fleet of LEO-equipped aircraft, but not necessarily all Starlink

When Southwest announced it was installing Starlink, an accompanying statement read:

Southwest® plans to rapidly integrate Starlink into its fleet. The first Starlink-equipped aircraft enters service this summer, and it will be available on more than 300 aircraft by the end of 2026. This is a major step in the carrier’s plan to upgrade all its aircraft with high-speed, low-Earth-orbit satellite technology.

However, Southwest Airlines told AGN today that it currently has no plans to install Starlink on its entire fleet of almost 800 aircraft. Rather, it told us:

“We plan to upgrade to an all-LEO fleet using a mix of providers.”

A mix of providers suggests there could be an opportunity for Amazon LEO, which has struggled to gain traction in the aviation market. Alternatively, some less well-known LEO providers could be on the cards, such as Eutelsat OneWeb, for example. Viasat has plans to integrate its GEO services with Telesat’s Lightspeed LEO network, set to enter service in 2027, to give airlines a reliable multi-orbit solution, and could be another option for SWA.

Southwest originally signed for Starlink WiFi in February this year, promising a rapid integration and more than 300 equipped aircraft by the end of the year.

Although it’s taken four months to get the first Starlink aircraft into service, the aircraft was out of service for a month. That doesn’t mean it took a month to get the installation done; it may well have been having a regular maintenance check too.

Airlines report installations typically taking between three and 15 days, depending on the size and type of aircraft. United Airlines has claimed the physical hardware can be installed and tested in as little as four days, although there may still be cabin repairs to do beyond that.

Southwest certainly has a challenge on its hands to install 299 more aircraft in just six months (not quite as much of a challenge as United, which has promised 600 more fit-outs in the same time period), particularly with the peak summer season upon us.

As for whether the WiFi delivers, no doubt the many influencers and journalists who are almost certainly meeting this flight during its tour will soon share their verdicts.

Featured image: Southwest Airlines

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