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airBaltic deploys Starlink for IFC

January 11, 2023

By Chris Forrester

Latvian airline airBaltic will equip its entire Airbus A220-300 fleet with SpaceX’s Starlink internet broadband connectivity system. The airline says that every passenger will benefit from complimentary, in-flight high-speed internet access during all flights without hassles or login pages.

Starlink can deliver up to 350 Mbps to aircraft, and with latency as low as 20 ms, passengers can engage in activities including online gaming, virtual private networks, and other high data rate activities.

Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic, commented: “This marks a historic moment for our airline and the industry as a whole. Soon airBaltic will become the first airline in Europe to launch high-speed, unlimited, and free-of-charge satellite internet on board. We are excited to further improve our service to our passengers who will soon benefit from this internet connectivity onboard our flights within the airBaltic network in Europe and beyond. We are glad to have found the right connectivity provider – SpaceX’s Starlink – that fits our needs and meets our wishes. Having the most modern aircraft type on the market, it was the next logical step for airBaltic to implement the most modern available inflight internet solution on this fleet.”

“By becoming the first European airline to implement Starlink fleetwide, airBaltic is setting a new standard in ensuring its passengers have an internet experience that they have come to expect in our modern age,” added SpaceX VP/Starlink Sales Jonathan Hofeller. “With Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet, airBaltic passengers will have internet similar to or better than what they experience at home. Customers will walk on the plane and the internet will simply work, making the stress of login pages and downloading large files before take-off a thing of the past.”

airBaltic says it will work with SpaceX to achieve 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 (Air Baltic Corporation AS) connects the Baltic region with over 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS. airBaltic operates 39 Airbus A220-300 aircraft.

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