WestJet becomes the latest airline to offer free fleetwide Starlink Wi-Fi
Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet is getting on the free Wi-Fi bandwagon.
The airline announced Wednesday that it will begin offering free fleetwide Wi-Fi later this year. WestJet is partnering with SpaceX's Starlink satellite provider to equip its fleet with Wi-Fi service.
The first jets equipped with the new Starlink Wi-Fi will take off before the end of 2024. The airline plans to complete retrofits across its entire narrow-body fleet by the end of 2025, followed by wide-body aircraft by the end of 2026.
WestJet's Wi-Fi service will be offered in partnership with Canadian telecom giant Telus as part of what the companies are calling a "multi-year strategic partnership."
In order to connect to WestJet Wi-Fi, you'll need to be a member of the WestJet Rewards frequent flyer program. You can easily become a member of the program anytime before your flight.
Once you join, you'll be eligible for unlimited free Wi-Fi across devices.
WestJet currently offers paid Panasonic Wi-Fi on some of its fleet, but that service is much slower and less reliable than Starlink.
"Through our strategic partnership with TELUS, we are setting a new standard in the Canadian airline industry by offering Starlink's revolutionary inflight connectivity, and thanks to TELUS we are able to bring this inflight experience to WestJet Rewards guests for free," said John Weatherill, WestJet's chief commercial officer, in a statement.
Based on this statement, Telus seems to be sponsoring WestJet's free Wi-Fi service, much in the same way that T-Mobile is sponsoring free Wi-Fi in the U.S. with WestJet's codeshare partner, Delta Air Lines.
That said, though Delta may have commanded headlines for its fleetwide rollout of free Wi-Fi, the Atlanta-based carrier has teamed up with Viasat to equip much of its fleet with free and fast Wi-Fi. Viasat has long been a reliable internet provider, but the Starlink network offers even faster download and upload speeds.
Starlink is among the fastest and most reliable satellite Wi-Fi providers, and it's proven to be a popular choice for new airline Wi-Fi installations. In the U.S., Hawaiian Airlines and public air charter carrier JSX have already debuted Starlink internet, and internationally, Qatar Airways, Air New Zealand and airBaltic have all announced Starlink partnerships.
I tested Starlink's inflight Wi-Fi offering on board JSX and was blown away by the speeds and reliability of the service. Download speeds topped 150 Mbps, and I had no trouble streaming shows and joining video calls with no buffering or lag.
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