BA rolling out free wifi via Starlink
Discussion
https://mediacentre.britishairways.com/pressreleas...
What am I missing here? BA doesn't do anything for free and I'd rather have a G&T and a snack than free wifi...
What am I missing here? BA doesn't do anything for free and I'd rather have a G&T and a snack than free wifi...
https://www.headforpoints.com/2025/11/06/british-a...
Some more information here about which aircraft will get it first.
Some more information here about which aircraft will get it first.
Mixed feelings about this. I like the idea of being able to stream a much broader range or films and TV shows. On the other hand being in a metal tube at 35000' is one of the few places I can escape from emails, whatsapps and so on. I know I don't have to fire up Outlook, or check for messages on my phone, but that is a lot easier said than done when I know there is a data connection.
On a different but related note, I remember being told by a chap I know years and years ago that HS2 was a pointless exercise, because the problem with the existing route wasn't the time that the trains took - it was being disconnected for longer than one had to be (this was when in-train wifi was pretty patchy and unreliable). His solution was to scrap HS, put better business class seats in first class, serve decent food, and provide lightning fast reliable wifi all the way. Starlink provides the final piece of that jigsaw, a few years too late.
On a different but related note, I remember being told by a chap I know years and years ago that HS2 was a pointless exercise, because the problem with the existing route wasn't the time that the trains took - it was being disconnected for longer than one had to be (this was when in-train wifi was pretty patchy and unreliable). His solution was to scrap HS, put better business class seats in first class, serve decent food, and provide lightning fast reliable wifi all the way. Starlink provides the final piece of that jigsaw, a few years too late.
BlackTails said:
Mixed feelings about this. I like the idea of being able to stream a much broader range or films and TV shows. On the other hand being in a metal tube at 35000' is one of the few places I can escape from emails, whatsapps and so on. I know I don't have to fire up Outlook, or check for messages on my phone, but that is a lot easier said than done when I know there is a data connection.
I think there's a lot to be read between the lines of the announcement that means what you get might not be what you think - very much depending on class.You'll notice they don't use words like "broadband", "super fast" or even "fast", words that have gained broad speed definitions, but the much more nebulous phrase "feels like home". Well, in my flat my phone will lose its WiFi connection if I go into the bathroom...
OK, if you sat at the front of the bus I'm sure you'll have a great connection and amazing speeds but by the time you get down to the cheap seats, that might be the same bandwidth each seat gets in 1st shared across everybody in cattle class, and if everybody's trying to stream films on that, well that bandwidth is going to get eaten up quickly!
BlackTails said:
Mixed feelings about this. I like the idea of being able to stream a much broader range or films and TV shows. On the other hand being in a metal tube at 35000' is one of the few places I can escape from emails, whatsapps and so on. I know I don't have to fire up Outlook, or check for messages on my phone, but that is a lot easier said than done when I know there is a data connection.
On a different but related note, I remember being told by a chap I know years and years ago that HS2 was a pointless exercise, because the problem with the existing route wasn't the time that the trains took - it was being disconnected for longer than one had to be (this was when in-train wifi was pretty patchy and unreliable). His solution was to scrap HS, put better business class seats in first class, serve decent food, and provide lightning fast reliable wifi all the way. Starlink provides the final piece of that jigsaw, a few years too late.
HS2 wasnt just about speed but capacity. Agree on the WiFi point though, its crazy that in 2025 I can't dial into a teams meeting on the train because it will drop in and out every 5 mins On a different but related note, I remember being told by a chap I know years and years ago that HS2 was a pointless exercise, because the problem with the existing route wasn't the time that the trains took - it was being disconnected for longer than one had to be (this was when in-train wifi was pretty patchy and unreliable). His solution was to scrap HS, put better business class seats in first class, serve decent food, and provide lightning fast reliable wifi all the way. Starlink provides the final piece of that jigsaw, a few years too late.
Virgin Atlantic have previously announced the are fitting Starlink also:
https://corporate.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/media/p...
https://corporate.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/media/p...
//j17 said:
BlackTails said:
Mixed feelings about this. I like the idea of being able to stream a much broader range or films and TV shows. On the other hand being in a metal tube at 35000' is one of the few places I can escape from emails, whatsapps and so on. I know I don't have to fire up Outlook, or check for messages on my phone, but that is a lot easier said than done when I know there is a data connection.
I think there's a lot to be read between the lines of the announcement that means what you get might not be what you think - very much depending on class.You'll notice they don't use words like "broadband", "super fast" or even "fast", words that have gained broad speed definitions, but the much more nebulous phrase "feels like home". Well, in my flat my phone will lose its WiFi connection if I go into the bathroom...
OK, if you sat at the front of the bus I'm sure you'll have a great connection and amazing speeds but by the time you get down to the cheap seats, that might be the same bandwidth each seat gets in 1st shared across everybody in cattle class, and if everybody's trying to stream films on that, well that bandwidth is going to get eaten up quickly!
Free wifi on BA? Great....if it works. Maybe I was just unlucky but my flight out of Gatwick to Tampa in September had no internet because it was broken, then the return A380 from MIA to LHR was the same story. Ah well, my flight out to Tampa had the full LOTR trilogy loaded on it, I wasn't complaining!
//j17 said:
Worth noting this story is the announcement of a 2026 Wifi rollout...
So one plane gets it on December 31st 2026 and the rest by 2040?Never knew BA didn’t already have something but haven’t flown then since 2012 and probably wont again.
Aer Lingus (also IAG) do on transatlantic, although not Starlink. Worked well enough to track progress and see what else was out there on Flightradar but not really up to streaming.
I kind of like being cut off from the world when flying - definitely don’t need some idiot next to me holding a Teams call or something.
Crudeoink said:
HS2 wasnt just about speed but capacity. Agree on the WiFi point though, its crazy that in 2025 I can't dial into a teams meeting on the train because it will drop in and out every 5 mins
I, for one, am delighted that you can't dial into a teams meeting on the train.Long may that particular blessing continue.
I’ve flown with Delta a few times internally in the US over the past year or so, free WiFi on their flights plus live tv. I watched a Grand Prix on a flight from New York to Fort Myers. I always thought why can Delta do this and all UK carriers can’t. Or do we just accept piss poor service.
RammyMP said:
I ve flown with Delta a few times internally in the US over the past year or so, free WiFi on their flights plus live tv. I watched a Grand Prix on a flight from New York to Fort Myers. I always thought why can Delta do this and all UK carriers can t. Or do we just accept piss poor service.
One obvious point: internal US flights are mostly over US land. Compared to say flying over Greenland, northern Canada, the Pacific or the Atlantic, I can see how WiFi on internal US flights would be easier to deliver.
BlackTails said:
Compared to say flying over Greenland, northern Canada, the Pacific or the Atlantic,
That's why Starlink is such a game-changer, for remote communities, aircraft, boats etc. We are not limited in the same way as we were with legacy satellite systems, and true global coverage is now possible. Not just that, our old VSAT connections used to cost about £30k per month. Starlink is orders magnitude cheaper, which is why Elon doesn't want the airlines taking the piss by charging each pax £100 per flight to connect to a service which costs around that per month.We flew into LHR with Qatar Airlines yesterday. Starlink onboard is Awesome. I could stream Youtube and catch up on car videos with zero lag.
However, BA offering this does not convince me to fly them when another more decent airline flys the same route
I hope Emirates and Singapore Airlines catch up soon (my other regular airlines).
However, BA offering this does not convince me to fly them when another more decent airline flys the same route
I hope Emirates and Singapore Airlines catch up soon (my other regular airlines).
colin79666 said:
definitely don t need some idiot next to me holding a Teams call or something.
I had this in June/July flying to the US - the guy a couple of seats over from me was holding several Teams calls about some big pitch he was preparing for the business he worked for (FanDuel) - amazing amounts of commercially sensitive information being talked about and shared in a very confined space.It was frankly awful to be near - and even worse for the child he was with that was between us that just wanted his dad to engage with him.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff