With how connected we are to our devices, this is especially noticeable when Wi-Fi is interrupted or slow, even in situations where we might expect problems, like on airplanes. Airline Wi-Fi isn’t known for its efficiency or speed, which is even more frustrating when you have to pay extra for poor service. After all, you can’t use normal methods to improve your Wi-Fi speed on a plane. However, some airlines offer reliable Wi-Fi, even faster than the national average.
According to a study by Ookla, the airline with the fastest median download speed in 2025 was United Airlines, with an average of 319.99 Mbps. This is well above the average speed of 214 Mbps in the United States for the same year. After United, Ookla ranked Emirates in second place with 308.65 Mbps, airBaltic in third place with 305.77 Mbps and Alaska Airlines in fourth place with 304.02 Mbps.
The study also looked at Wi-Fi consistency across different airlines. Ookla defined the Wi-Fi service as consistent as long as it provided a minimum download speed of 25 Mbps and an upload speed of 3 Mbps throughout the flight. This was to show the reliability of the service rather than just measuring the peak. The four airlines with the fastest Wi-Fi hit this threshold more than 50% of the time, with airBaltic topping the list with a truly impressive 98.3% reliability. These airlines all have one thing in common that may explain why they are so fast: they use Starlink.
Starlink makes the difference
Starlink is a satellite internet service created and owned by SpaceX that uses thousands of Starlink satellites to deliver impressive connection speeds. Some users even claim that Starlink is better than their regular home internet, especially in rural areas. The reason it can offer such fast connection speeds is because Starlink uses Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, which are more efficient due to their closer proximity to the Earth’s surface and lower latency. Older geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems were farther away in Earth’s orbit, and increasing distance resulted in slower speeds and higher latency.
Airline Wi-Fi speeds are a perfect example of how LEO-based internet outperforms traditional methods. As Ookla explains: “No other in-flight connectivity (IFC) provider has approached triple-digit speeds. Conversely, no airline with Starlink had a median download speed below 100 Mbps. » This clearly shows that, even in the worst case, Starlink is faster than other providers at their best. For example, United still uses Intelsat and Inmarsat on some planes without Starlink installed, which have much slower download speeds of 56.48 Mbps and 15.34 Mbps, respectively.
The good news is that more airlines are expected to improve their Wi-Fi speeds in the coming years. American Airlines recently announced that it will begin installing Starlink on more than 500 aircraft starting in the first quarter of 2027. About 40 airlines in total have installed Starlink, are installing it, or plan to install it in the coming years. JetBlue and Delta have reached agreements with Amazon to bring Amazon Leo (formerly known as Project Kuiper) to their planes in the coming years. As Leo is not yet available, it remains to be seen how it will compare to Starlink. But at this point, the stats clearly show that LEO is superior when it comes to airline Wi-Fi speeds.
