KLM Brings Starlink Internet to Long-Haul Flights

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will equip its intercontinental aircraft with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet, offering free, high-speed Wi-Fi on long-haul routes from mid-2027. The Dutch carrier announced the deal on October 8.

What KLM Announced

The rollout will be phased, beginning in mid-2027, and KLM has not published a completion date. The service will be available in all cabin classes on equipped aircraft, and KLM says it will support web browsing, email, messaging, and streaming films, series and music.

Access is free but tied to a loyalty account. Flying Blue members can log in with their account details, while other passengers can sign up before departure or through the onboard Wi-Fi portal. Joining Flying Blue costs nothing.

KLM has not said which aircraft types will be fitted first. Its long-haul fleet includes the Boeing 777 and 787, and the airline recently took delivery of its first Airbus A350.

Why Starlink

Starlink uses a large constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites. Because they orbit much closer to Earth than the geostationary satellites behind older in-flight systems, they offer lower latency and faster potential speeds. KLM cited low latency and coverage over oceans and remote routes as reasons for the choice. It has not published specific speed figures.

Short-Haul Flights Already Have Free Wi-Fi

Despite how the announcement can read, European travelers have not been left out. KLM has offered free Wi-Fi across most of its European fleet since January 22, 2026, using a different provider. At launch, only about half of that fleet was equipped. Once the rollout is complete, the service will cover all Airbus A321neo and Embraer E195-E2 aircraft and part of the Boeing 737-800 fleet.

The Starlink announcement covers intercontinental flights only, so the two services will run side by side.

Following the Starlink Trend

KLM is joining a long list of carriers adopting Starlink. Its sister airline Air France, along with Qatar Airways, United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, has already rolled out or announced Starlink service. One travel outlet described KLM as one of the notable holdouts among major European airlines.

For airlines, free, fast connectivity has become a competitive selling point as passengers, and business travelers in particular, expect to stay online in the air. Charging for slow connections is increasingly hard to justify.

What Passengers Can Expect

Once the service is installed, passengers should be able to stream, message and browse without the buffering that has long plagued in-flight internet. Because the rollout is gradual, which flights get Starlink first will depend on which aircraft KLM equips first, and the airline has not yet said.