Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... As the era of high-speed internet onboard commercial aircraft dawns, U.S. airlines are engaging in arms race to see who can give customers the most seamless experience. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines announced in December that free Wi-Fi for SkyMiles members offered in partnership with T-Mobile was available on about 75% of its fleet. And last month, Fort Worth-based American Airlines began a phased rollout of free internet for members of its loyalty program, AAdvantage. Other competitors are aiming to take it a step further. For example, United Airlines already offers Starlink on select aircraft. More recently, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines announced its intention to install Elon Musk’s Starlink service onboard its aircraft. Here’s what you need to know about Starlink and how it could impact your in-flight experience in the future: What is Starlink? Starlink is satellite constellation technology that uses low Earth orbit to bring high-speed internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more, according to the company’s website. Starlink is engineered and operated by SpaceX, a private aerospace company that was founded by Elon Musk. How many satellites are there? There is a bit of a discrepancy in the exact number of satellites, but its safe to say there are a lot. According to the Starlink website, more than 6,000 satellites are currently in orbit. Southwest described Starlink as a “constellation of more than 9,000 satellites.” How does Starlink differ from other satellite internet? Starlink offers more benefits since it is in lower orbit. Starlink orbits the Earth at about 550 kilometers, and covers the entire globe, cutting the latency time (the data time between the user and satellite) down to around 25 milliseconds, according to its website. In comparison, most satellite internets are powered by single geostationary satellites that orbit the Earth from more than 35,000 kilometers away, according to Starlink. The latency for such service is higher, making it more difficult to support data-heavy activities such as streaming and online gaming, Starlink says. What other airlines plan to use Starlink? In addition to Southwest and United, major U.S. carrier Alaska Airlines is also rolling out Starlink as well. Hawaiian Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska, already offers Starlink on some Airbus aicraft. There are also several global carriers that plan to roll out an in-flight Starlink service, according to a Business Insider article published last month. Share this: