Lufthansa Group ushers in new era of inflight connectivity with Starlink
This is a special feature from the October 2026 MRO Europe issue of PAX Tech, on page 10.
Alina von Bethmann, Senior Director Program Starlink Transformation at Lufthansa Group
Lufthansa Group’s continual investment in aircraft and premium product and service innovations along the entire travel chain, has reached a new milestone.
Coinciding with Lufthansa's 100th anniversary, an occasion it calls “a bold look into the future,” the Group has launched high-speed, inflight Wi-Fi provided by Starlink,with a Lufthansa A320neo the first aircraft to offer the product.
In total, 850 aircraft across the Group’s airlines (Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Edelweiss, Discover Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Lufthansa City Airlines and Eurowings) will be equipped with the “Lufthansa Group Wi-Fi” branded service by the end of 2029. This makes Lufthansa Group the largest airline group in Europe to equip its fleet with Starlink.
Lufthansa Group has launched high-speed, inflight Wi-Fi provided by Starlink,with a Lufthansa A320neo the first aircraft to offer the product
Rollout roadmap
“For the time being the Starlink installations are retrofit events, meaning the aircraft is already operative in the fleet, or will undergo an installation right after Transfer of Title and after the ferry flight to a Lufthansa Group hub,” Alina von Bethmann, Senior Director Program Starlink Transformation at Lufthansa Group, tells PAX Tech.
To avoid additional ground-time, in most cases the installation is conducted during regularly planned aircraft layovers, for example C-Checks using the overall planning dependencies and build-on efficiencies from scheduling. The process time is primarily based on the conditions and time-needs of the checks that are conducted.
“We always optimize where possible, to link the different tasks even better, also based on learnings we could gather throughout the first installations of our A320 aircraft,” she says.
The installation is conducted by aircraft fleet. Currently several airlines within the Lufthansa Group are equipping aircraft from the A320 family with Starlink. Other fleets are to follow gradually, with the A350 and the A330 scheduled to be next in line, von Bethmann confirms.
For scheduling, the Group plans to have up to 50 aircraft equipped before the end of this year—an install rate of more than two aircraft per week. It is a pace that will increase by the beginning of next year, says von Bethmann, depending on aircraft availability and on the summer and winter flight plan.
Lufthansa Group plans to have up to 50 aircraft equipped before the end of this year
A new era
The Lufthansa Group Wi-Fi is sponsored by Mastercard, as was its previous inflight broadband service, FlyNet.
The service will be complementary for all passenger groups, as long as they are Miles&More members, the Groups’ frequent flyer and awards program or have a Travel ID account. Travel ID registration is free of charge.
“At Lufthansa Group we believe that the individual choice of our guests is best offered by a consistent experience throughout the airlines of the group. Offering complementary high-speed internet gives us the chance for enhanced and closer interaction with our guests onboard,” von Bethmann says.
Passengers will be able to watch videos, access cloud-based working, and other high-speed applications whilst in flight, on several devices at once. Terms of use apply to all passengers, which have been developed based on passenger surveys.
According to von Bethmann, future use-cases will include personalized retail options, entertainment offers and impulses for travel-related services, as well as destination-based offers.
