Elon Musk's Starlink boards AirBaltic: free wifi internet aboard entire A220 fleet
AirBaltic will work with SpaceX to obtain the required STC (supplemental type certification) approval and is expected to begin installing the product on the entire airBaltic Airbus A220-300 fleet this year
AirBaltic
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Today Latvian airline airBaltic announced that. will equip the entire Airbus A220-300 fleet with SpaceX's Starlink Internet connectivity system. Every passenger will benefit from free in-flight high-speed Internet access during all airBaltic flights without any hassle or access pages. From the moment passengers board the plane, they will have access to the Internet.
Latvia's flag carrier, The only one in the world to have a fleet composed entirely of A220s, flies from its hub in Riga and other Baltic capitals to all of Europe and beyond.
Developed by SpaceX, Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency broadband Internet in more than 40 countries and began serving commercial aircraft last year with in-flight high-speed Internet. With satellites positioned in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 550 km, more than 65 times closer than conventional geostationary satellites, Starlink achieves significantly lower latency and higher transmission speeds for its end users. Starlink can deliver up to 350 Mbps to aircraft, and with latency as low as 20 ms, passengers can engage in previously nonfunctional in-flight activities, including online gaming, virtual private networks and other high data rate activities.
Martin Gauss, managing director of airBaltic: "This marks a historic moment for our airline and for the industry as a whole. Soon airBaltic will become the first airline in Europe to launch free, unlimited, high-speed satellite Internet on board. We are excited to further enhance our service for our passengers who will soon benefit from this Internet connectivity on board our flights within the airBaltic network in Europe and beyond."
"We are pleased to have found the right connectivity provider - SpaceX's Starlink - that fits our needs and meets our desires. Having the most modern type of aircraft on the market, it was the next logical step for airBaltic to implement the most modern in-flight Internet solution available on this fleet," added Martin Gauss.
"Becoming the first European airline to implement Starlink on its entire fleet., airBaltic is setting a new standard for providing its passengers with an Internet experience they have come to expect in our modern age," said Jonathan Hofeller, SpaceX Vice President of Starlink Sales. "With Starlink's high-speed, low-latency Internet, airBaltic passengers will have a similar or better Internet connection than they experience at home. Customers will board the plane and the Internet will simply work, making the stress of login pages and downloading large files before takeoff a thing of the past."
A detail of the screens on board Airbaltic's A220, a solution that was not installed instead in the A220s in ITA Airways' fleet.
There is already wi-fi on board the Latvian carrier's A220s, but connectivity is currently only used to access the onboard portal, order food and drinks, check flight status, and browse the magazine. I have always rated very highly the service offered by this carrier, which flies from many Italian airports and also has a codeshare agreement with ITA Airways. With this news, I am even happier that I have to fly often with this company.
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