SpaceX’s Starlink has turned in-flight Wi-Fi into a land grab, and right now it’s holding most of the land. With commitments spanning 7,000 to 8,000 commercial aircraft and a constellation of roughly 9,000 to 10,000 satellites already in orbit, Starlink has built the kind of lead that makes competitors look less like rivals and more like cautionary tales about timing.
Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite initiative, known as Amazon Leo, has managed to deploy approximately 214 satellites. For context, that’s roughly 2% of Starlink’s fleet. Amazon Leo’s first major in-flight Wi-Fi installations aren’t expected to begin until 2028.
The airline scorecard
United Airlines, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, and American Airlines have all moved toward Starlink adoption. American Airlines finalized a deal in May 2026 covering more than 500 jets, with connectivity speeds of up to 1 Gbps per antenna.
Several of these carriers are targeting complete fleet upgrades by the end of 2027.
