Qatar Airways collaborates with Elon Musk's Starlink for a record-breaking high-speed Wi-Fi achievement.

• Qatar Airways partners with Elon Musk's Starlink to provide high-speed internet on its aircraft.
• In the Middle East and North Africa region, Gulf airline will be the first to provide wi-fi to its passengers through Starlink.

Qatar Airways launched its first Boeing 777 flight with Elon Musk's Starlink internet, marking the beginning of a new era of in-flight connectivity across its entire fleet by next year.

Qatar Airways CEO Badr Al Meer and Starlink founder Musk had a video call while flying at 35,000 feet from Doha to London.

""Starlink is being discussed on the call, and it's amazing to see it across the laser links of the satellites to the aircraft," Musk said from his home, which was recorded and released by the Qatari airline."

Qatar Airways' decision to provide free high-speed internet on its planes challenges competitors who offer slower, unreliable, and often paid services, or restricted access based on status.

"The software will continue to improve as we launch new satellites, and over time, you'll notice it getting better and better," Musk stated before receiving a video tour of the cockpit from Al Meer.

"This is the bare minimum. It can only improve from here," Musk told Qatar Tourism Chairman Saad bin Ali Al-Kharji, seated next to Badr Al Meer on the flight.

By the end of 2024, the Qatari state carrier aims to deliver 12 Boeing 777-300s with the service, ensuring complete coverage for its entire Boeing 777 fleet. Following in the summer of 2025, the airline will also cover its Airbus A350 fleet.

Regional First

Starlink, a satellite internet constellation, offers high-speed and low-latency internet through 6,000 satellites, enabling passengers to stream videos, send messages, and hold calls over Wi-Fi on multiple devices. Qatar Airways, undergoing a major strategic overhaul, announced that the service will be free of charge and operational from gate to gate.

The Gulf airline will be the first in the Middle East and North Africa region to offer Starlink-supplied wi-fi to its passengers, it said in a company statement. Similarly, Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran stated in October that reliable and speedy wi-fi on full-service carriers will become "ubiquitous" as airlines compete to provide enhanced services for travelers.

In late 2023, Air New Zealand declared that it would launch Starlink on two of its domestic planes by late 2024.

Rising Competition

Qatar Airways announced in March that it was working on a new First Class concept and seeking aircraft orders from Boeing and Airbus as part of its "Qatar Airways 2.0" strategic transformation.

Global passenger demand increased by 8.6% in August 2023 compared to the same month in 2022, while Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 4.9% year-on-year rise in demand.