Elon Musk is taking aim at Delta Air Lines Inc for passing over SpaceX’s Starlink in the competition to offer passengers better in-flight WiFi.
Delta chief executive officer Ed Bastian is in Musk’s sights for choosing Amazon.com Inc’s Leo, the new service intended to be a Starlink alternative. The SpaceX CEO has repeatedly criticised the move and on Tuesday said Bastian "will lose his job over this” after an account on X circulated unverified comments attributed to the Delta CEO about the choice.
Bastian earlier this year defended Delta’s decision to go with Amazon Leo, saying in a May interview with Bloomberg News that the service offered improved bandwidth at a significantly lower price point than Starlink.
Delta didn’t respond to a fresh request for comment. Amazon didn’t immediately respond.
The clash underscores how Internet access, once an unreliable add-on that passengers begrudgingly paid for, has become another front in the competition among airlines for high-spending and loyal customers. Carriers are promising connectivity fast enough to stream movies, join video calls and play online games, making the quality of WiFi part of the broader fight over who offers the better onboard experience.
Delta and JetBlue Airways Corp have agreements to offer Amazon’s service, with JetBlue starting next year and Delta in 2028.
Amazon plans a network of more than 7,000 satellites, but has only about 400 in orbit and Leo’s aviation product hasn’t been tested at anything approaching Starlink’s current scale.
Meanwhile, SpaceX has more than 11,000 Starlink satellites in orbit and 12 million active users. Musk’s company has a much larger roster of airlines, including United Airlines Holdings Inc, American Airlines Group Inc and Southwest Airlines Co, that are moving ahead with rollouts of the service.
Musk continued to stir the pot Thursday, highlighting social media posts from American and United that sought to capitalise on the dust-up with Delta.
"Both @United and @AmericanAir have @Starlink!” he wrote on his social media platform X, sharing competing pitches from the two carriers aimed at travelers considering switching their airline loyalty programs.
United has made the technology a centrepiece of its onboard upgrades, with SpaceX saying earlier this year that hundreds of United aircraft had already been equipped. The carrier plans to have Starlink across its fleet by the end of 2027 and touted its Starlink connectivity on Tuesday when launching an offer aimed at Delta SkyMiles and American AAdvantage members, calling the service "game-changing.”
United’s offer allows eligible travelers to earn comparable United status through January 2028 by meeting spending and flying requirements during a 90-day period.
American, which plans to begin installing Starlink across more than 500 narrowbody aircraft in early 2027, joined the fray by promoting its status-match program, telling travelers reconsidering their airline loyalty that it could match their status and "keep you connected at 35k feet with Starlink soon.”
The most recent launch of Amazon Leo satellites was in July. The company has signed up for many launches with United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp. However, one of ULA’s major rockets has been grounded for months due to a booster issue.
Another provider of launches for Amazon Leo, Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin, is trying to recover after an explosion destroyed the launchpad for its New Glenn rocket in May. At an event in Washington on Tuesday, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp reiterated the company’s commitment to resume launches by yearend.
SpaceX, on the other hand, has maintained reliable access to orbit with its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, allowing the company to add more Starlink satellites to its network, sometimes as often as multiple times a week.
Musk’s company will also now be able to launch spacecraft at a greater scale using its massive Starship rocket, which reached orbit and deployed functioning Starlink satellites for the first time on Monday. – Bloomberg
