Qatar Airways was the first to connect Starlink on a Boeing 787-8

Qatar Airways has become the first airline in the world to equip a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with the Starlink satellite internet system. At the same time, the carrier has completed the installation across its entire Airbus A350 fleet in just eight months. As of now, Qatar Airways operates three Dreamliner aircraft with high-speed Wi-Fi, bringing the total number of its widebody aircraft equipped with Starlink to nearly 120.

This move is part of what is considered the fastest and most extensive Starlink deployment program on widebody aircraft in the history of civil aviation. In less than 14 months, Qatar Airways launched and fully completed Starlink installations across its Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 fleets, after which the program was expanded to include the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Throughout 2025, Starlink provided in-flight internet connectivity to more than 21 million airline passengers worldwide. Passengers of Qatar Airways accounted for nearly half of this figure, with over 10 million people becoming the first globally to use free high-speed internet on widebody aircraft operating long-haul and ultra-long-haul routes.

Currently, nearly 120 widebody aircraft in the Qatar Airways fleet – representing more than 58% of its widebody operations, including Airbus A350, Boeing 777, and Boeing 787 aircraft – are equipped with Starlink connectivity offering speeds of up to 500 Mbps. This enables passengers to stream video, make video calls, and work online in real time, with performance that in some cases exceeds that of typical home broadband connections.

The airline continues to expand coverage of the fastest in-flight Wi-Fi across a growing number of routes. These include most destinations in North and South America and Australia, as well as key services across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

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Source: Aeronewsglobal