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- Qatar Airways’ first flight using Elon Musk’s Starlink took off on Tuesday.
- The SpaceX CEO previously joined a video call with the Qatar CEO, who was on board a test flight.
- Business Insider was on the first flight and experienced download speeds of up to 215 Mbps.
Qatar Airways has launched its first flight featuring Elon Musk‘s Starlink internet.
Flight QR1, operated by a Boeing 777, took off from Doha for London Heathrow around 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
Business Insider was on board and found internet download speeds as fast as 215 megabits per second, faster than many home internet connections.
Starlink WiFi is also free for passengers in all cabins, whereas the airline’s regular inflight WiFi costs $10 for a full flight — at speeds around 5 Mbps.
The higher speeds mean passengers can make video calls, stream videos, and play games online. For business travelers, Starlink is set to be a productivity game changer, given that regular inflight WiFi commonly suffers from slow speeds and connectivity problems.
Qatar plans to roll out Starlink to a total of 12 Boeing 777-300s by the end of 2024 and to all of its 777s and Airbus A350s next year.
On a previous test flight, Musk joined a video call with Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.
Courtesy of Qatar Airways
From 38,000 feet, Al-Meer showed Musk around the cabin as well as the view from the flight deck, while the SpaceX CEO was at home in the US.
“That’s super cool. I’m on Starlink right now at my house,” Musk said on the call.
Saad bin Ali Al-Kharji, the chairman of Qatar Tourism, said he found the inflight connection better than the internet on the ground.
“It’s only going to get better,” Musk replied. “We keep making improvements: We launch new satellites, and we keep improving the software.”
“So over time, I think you’ll find it just gets better and better,” he added.
“By providing Starlink reliable, seamless internet on board, we are connecting people to things they love the most even at 35,000 feet, making every journey with us a memorable one,” Al-Meer said in a press release.
Qatar — named the world’s best airline by Skytrax — is the second carrier after Hawaiian Airlines to launch a Starlink service.
United Airlines and Air France are among other airlines to have announced plans to install Starlink.