SpaceX's Starlink inks first in-flight WiFi deal

FILE PHOTO: SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Picture taken with long exposure. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - SpaceX signed its first deal with an air carrier to provide in-flight wireless internet using the Starlink satellite network, the space company said on Thursday as it jockeys with other burgeoning satellite firms to put high-speed internet on commercial airlines.

The company, owned by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, has been in talks for months with airlines to provide Starlink internet in-flight, a key prong in SpaceX's strategy to scoop up enterprise customers beyond consumers and households in rural areas of the globe with little to no internet access.