easyJet to fit Starlink Wi-Fi across its Airbus fleet from 2027, nine months after saying the economics did not work

easyJet announced on 26 October 2026 that it will offer onboard Wi-Fi for the first time, through an agreement with SpaceX’s Starlink. Installation starts in the first half of 2027 on the A320, A320neo and A321neo fleet and is expected to be completed by early 2028. According to AeroTime, the 39 A319S still in the fleet will not be fitted, as they are being phased out.

The release does not say whether the service will be free or paid, and it did not disclose the deal’s financial terms.

What easyJet says the service is for

easyJet says the investment aims to attract more business and leisure customers, and CEO Kenton Jarvis refers to business customers twice in his statement. The release also lists uses beyond browsing: checking flight status in the easyJet app, looking up destination information such as local weather and transport, and ordering from the inflight menu from the seat. The airline carried 100 million passengers in 2025 and operates more than 350 aircraft.

The announcement comes three weeks after easyJet launched a ChatGPT integration to search for flights and package holidays (5 October 2026). Both moves add digital touchpoints that the airline controls, before and during the trip.

January: the cost debate

In January 2026, both of Europe’s largest low-cost carriers said Starlink did not work for them financially.

On 14 January, Ryanair ruled it out. Michael O’Leary estimated the cost at around $250 million a year, with about $200 million coming from a 2% increase in fuel burn caused by antenna drag. He also said fewer than 5% of passengers would pay a few euros for Wi-Fi on flights averaging about one hour and 15 minutes. Starlink’s VP of Engineering, Michael Nicolls, replied that the current terminal adds about 0.3% to fuel burn on a 737-800. The exchange with Elon Musk became a public row, which Ryanair used to sell seats.

On 29 January, Kenton Jarvis told journalists after easyJet’s results that talks with Starlink were ongoing but “the economics aren’t quite working for us”, while describing the product as very good. He said easyJet was also talking to other providers and would choose when the time was right.

Since then

On 8 June 2026, Wizz Air announced it would use Starlink across its fleet from 2027, making it the first European ultra-low-cost carrier to do so. It has not said how the service will be priced either.

Among airlines already flying with Starlink, one common model is free access for loyalty programme members. For example, WestJet offers free Wi-Fi to WestJet Rewards members. easyJet does not run a points-based frequent flyer programme; its paid membership product is the easyJet Plus subscription.

Starlink’s own fuel-burn figure is roughly a seventh of O’Leary’s, and Wizz Air’s commitment gave easyJet a competitor offering Starlink on overlapping short-haul routes. easyJet has not said what changed its assessment between January and October, and the commercial terms with Starlink are not public. When it announces the pricing model, it will show whether easyJet treats connectivity as an ancillary revenue line or as part of the base product.