Gamers may have a reason to fly on Qatar Airways, as the airline is the operator of the largest number of Starlink-equipped widebody aircraft across its fleet and now it has a promo going with Epic Games’ Fortnite.
Qatar Airways said it has launched the first Starlink-equipped Boeing 787 and it has completed its Airbus A350 Starlink rollout, connecting over 11 million passengers with the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky. While Starlink can cost $2,000 a month for individuals to use, it will be available for free on the aircraft.
The airline is the first carrier globally to install Starlink on Boeing 787-8 aircraft – with three Dreamliners already equipped. And following its pioneering Boeing 777 rollout program, Qatar Airways also completed the first Airbus A350 Starlink installation.
It’s available on various routes across six continents, including long- and ultra-long-haul. The satellite-based Starlink Wi-Fi provides passengers with ultra-high-speed connectivity at up to 500 Mbps, enabling uninterrupted streaming, video calls, and real-time productivity that can surpass many home broadband networks.
The company recently completed its Starlink rollout program and equipped 120 widebody aircraft with the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky. This achievement represents one of the most rapid and ambitious Starlink installation programs in the aviation industry. It’s coming in ahead of schedule, and that’s a pretty good thing for gaming passengers.
Over 11 million passengers have used free, gate-to-gate, faster-than-home Wi-Fi onboard since the airline launched the service in October 2024.
With 58% of its widebody fleet now Starlink-connected, Qatar Airways — voted the World’s Best Airline by Skytrax in 2025 for the ninth time — has already operated over 30,000 flights with uninterrupted, high-speed, gate-to-gate connectivity.
In 2025, Starlink connected over 21 million passengers across global airlines. Qatar Airways’ Starlink-connected passengers comprise nearly half of that.
This pace further cements Qatar Airways’ position as the only carrier in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region to currently offer Starlink onboard, and a global leader in Starlink-enabled long-haul and ultra-long-haul connectivity. Of course, if you’re not a fan of Qatar’s politics or that of Starlink creator Elon Musk, that’s a challenge for you.
But the competitive drive that this will create in the industry should propel the notion of broadband gaming in the sky. I tried out Starlink on a Hawaiian Airlines flight on the way back from Maui, and it was pretty glorious. I was able to write stories on my laptop for much of the flight at 35,000 feet without having to worry that I had to upload images once home.
Qatar Airways Group CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said in a statement recently that the airline launched its first Starlink-equipped flight in October 2024 and it now operates hundreds of daily Starlink-connected flights to key destinations to ensure passengers stay seamlessly connected with speeds faster than many home Wi-Fi services.
To date, Qatar Airways has completed the Boeing 777 rollout program and is rapidly finalizing the Starlink rollout across its Airbus A350 aircraft, also set to be completed in record time. As the airline continues to extend Starlink connectivity across its global flight network spanning over 170 destinations, passengers in every cabin enjoy free, ultra-fast, gate-to-gate connectivity on flights spanning six continents, including flights to the majority of destinations served by Qatar Airways in the Americas and Australia, and on prominent routes in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Enhanced Real-Time Operations with Starlink
Starlink is transforming Qatar Airways’ employee experience and real-time operations:
- Flight and roster updates are delivered instantly to crew’s devices, ensuring increased operational alignment throughout every journey.
- Enhanced cabin crew co-ordination with ground teams in real time during medical or service-related situations, enabling faster decision-making and reducing delays.
- Engineers can monitor the in-flight entertainment system during flight and prepare recovery plans before landing, improving turnaround efficiency.