From 19 August, an Airbus A320neo from the group Lufthansa will take off for the first time featuring Starlink, the fastest in-flight internet connection currently available for passengers. Passengers will enjoy online bandwidth in the sky offering many of them an internet connection quality better than at the office or at home.
Leading provider Starlink is partnering with the Lufthansa Group to equip all 850 aircraft across the group's airlines. The system is based on low Earth orbit satellite technology and enables high-speed video streaming, cloud access and other applications in flight. This makes the Lufthansa Group the largest airline group in Europe to equip its fleet with modern high-speed internet.
The project forms part of the Lufthansa Group's major investments in new aircraft as well as product and service innovations throughout the travel chain. The group-wide rollout of the new high-speed internet aims to provide all passengers with a consistently high-quality online experience on board.
" I am pleased to announce the launch of the new Lufthansa Group Wi-Fi on board our group aircraft says Dieter Vranckx, Chief Commercial Officer of the Lufthansa GroupThus, we are making high-speed internet an essential component of the travel experience – in all classes and on all airlines of the Lufthansa Group: that is what we mean by premium. By 2029, all 850 aircraft in the group will be equipped with this technology. Our product promise doesn't stop at the seat or the menu – today, connectivity is also part of a top-tier onboard offering" .
All group companies to be equipped in the future
In addition to Lufthansa, the group's other airlines—Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways, Edelweiss, Discover Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Lufthansa City Airlines and Eurowings—are currently preparing the rollout of the new technology.
The new "Lufthansa Group WiFi" portal allows passengers to surf the internet and also contains usage rules to which all passengers must adhere. These were developed on the basis of customer surveys and thus reflect the wishes of the majority of Lufthansa Group customers. Among other things, passengers are asked to wear headphones when playing audio and video content, to refrain from voice and video calls, and not to stream live from on board.
The sponsor of the Lufthansa Group Wi-Fi portal is Mastercard, which was already a partner for the previous FlyNet portal.
The new internet offer will be free for all customers who are members of the Miles & More loyalty programme and Travel ID users, regardless of travel class.
