Qatar Airways becomes first Starlink-equipped 787 operator in the world

Dhaka: Qatar Airways has become the first global airline to incorporate Starlink connectivity into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and to deploy it on commercial flights.

A release from the airline said on November 18, it started the Starlink installation procedure on the first 787 Dreamliner, and just 13 days later, on December 1, the aircraft joined scheduled passenger service.

To date, a total of three Starlink-equipped Dreamliners have been introduced. Meanwhile, the process of equipping the entire 787 fleet with Starlink connectivity is progressing.

Previously, Qatar Airways completed Starlink installation on its entire Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 fleet in just 14 months.

The Doha-based airline currently operates around 120 Starlink-equipped wide-body aircraft, nearly 58% of its overall wide-body fleet comprising Airbus A350s, Boeing 777s, and 787 Dreamliners.

Incorporating Starlink into an aircraft allows passengers to access ultra-high-speed connectivity at up to 500 Mbps, which facilitates uninterrupted streaming, video calls, and real-time productivity that often surpass many home broadband networks.

In 2025, Starlink connected over 21 million air travelers across the globe, and almost half of them, over 10 million, were Qatar Airways passengers.

Qatar Airways claimed these achievements have established it as the global leader in Starlink-enabled long-haul and ultra-long-haul connectivity.

The airline currently offers Starlink connectivity on flights to most destinations in the Americas and Australia and on prominent routes in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

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