Satellite operator SES already serves dozens of airlines and thousands of aircraft with its solution for in-flight Wi-Fi and broadband. The company has seen a slew of airlines switching from SES (and rival geostationary operators Viasat and Eutelsat) to Starlink.

SES says these airlines are risking their in-flight service by selecting Starlink and its ‘all eggs in one basket’ requirement.

SES VP/global airline partnerships Enrique Villasenor, in an interview with Runway Girl Network, said: “There’s absolutely risk. I think they’re handing over the keys, frankly, to the future.”

While, in the recent past, airlines have hedged their bets by adopting a multi-source approach to on-board Wi-Fi, the game is now changing with Starlink reportedly insisting on a commitment for the airline’s whole fleet to be converted to Starlink.

Villasenor, who has extensive experience of the sector with his positions at Gogo, Intelsat and American Airlines, says that most Request for Proposals that are coming across his desk explicitly seek multi-orbit in-flight options if only to cope with a LEO blackout or trouble with a satellite.

SES happily fulfils that demand, with relationships in place Eutelsat’s OneWeb and SpaceX’s Starlink as well as their own MEO mPOWER fleet as part of its ‘Open Orbits’ solution for airlines.

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Tags: SES, starlink