Elon Musk has publicly endorsed the claim that satellite internet will become unavoidable for airlines. On October 8, according to Yahoo Finance, the SpaceX fan account @SPCX100T posted that Starlink will become a must-have for airlines and that those without it will lose customers to competitors. Musk replied with one word: “True”.
The exchange lands in the middle of a widening gap between United Airlines, the US carrier that has gone furthest with Starlink, and Delta Air Lines, which has signed instead with Amazon’s Leo low-earth-orbit service and will not begin installing it until 2028.
Key facts
- United had Starlink on just under 600 aircraft — 300 regional jets and 300 mainline planes — as of an October 12 note from Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu, cited by Yahoo Finance. Ten days earlier, on October 2, 24/7 Wall St put the count at more than 560.
- United expects its entire fleet to be fitted by the end of 2027, both outlets report.
- Southwest Airlines was set to start installing Starlink in summer 2026 and American Airlines starts in the first quarter of 2027, per the Jefferies note.
- Delta said in March 2026 it would use Amazon Leo on 500 aircraft, with installations starting in 2028, according to 24/7 Wall St.
- The one primary document in play is SpaceX’s S-1 registration statement, which lists United by name among Starlink’s enterprise customers and aviation as one of eight industries in that segment, Yahoo Finance reports.
Why it matters
Kahyaoglu described United’s position as a significant head start versus its US peers, Yahoo Finance reports, and tied it to premium demand: the analyst said US customers are prioritising a premium travel experience over a commoditised product, with United naming next-generation Wi-Fi alongside its mobile app, seat-back entertainment and new interiors as tools to attract premium customers.
For SpaceX, airline contracts add enterprise customers. Yahoo Finance notes that United was already a SpaceX customer, so the rollout should not move revenue estimates much, and that United has not said how long its contract runs.
United’s rollout
The nearer milestone is United’s target of half of its mainline fleet fitted by the end of this year, which Yahoo Finance frames as the immediate test of the airline’s schedule. Kahyaoglu’s note followed a meeting with United’s vice president of technology.
What the Wi-Fi costs
The only passenger-facing price either airline publishes is zero. United gives Starlink to MileagePlus members at no charge, Delta gives its Wi-Fi to SkyMiles members at no charge, and free access is now the standard across the carriers now flying Starlink free to passengers. Bastian has gone further, describing Delta as the global pioneer in launching free and fast Wi-Fi as the industry standard, Yahoo Finance reports.
The cost at issue is therefore wholesale, and it is undisclosed on both sides. Bastian’s claim that Amazon offers better bandwidth at lower cost, reported by 24/7 Wall St, is the only comparison on the record; Delta has published no per-aircraft or per-flight figure to support it, and United has not disclosed what it pays SpaceX.
Delta’s response
Delta has not shifted. Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box after the airline’s latest earnings report, Bastian said he is a big fan of Starlink, and dismissed Musk’s prediction that he would lose his job:
“I don’t pay any attention.” — Ed Bastian, Delta chief executive, on CNBC’s Squawk Box
On Delta’s July earnings call, Bastian said the airline is no longer competing on price as much as on value, experience and service, according to 24/7 Wall St, which also reports second-quarter premium product revenue grew 17% and loyalty revenue grew 19%.
Musk’s earlier posts
The spat predates the October exchange. In May, Musk said Delta wanted passengers to log in through its own Delta Sync portal and posted that Delta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for its customers; Delta called that claim inaccurate, Yahoo Finance reports.
On August 19, after Delta passengers complained about slow in-flight Wi-Fi and rebooked on other carriers for Starlink, Musk posted that he had warned them and that it would get much worse, 24/7 Wall St reports. Days later he called Delta’s choice of Amazon a grave error.
Unverified: a late-September claim that Bastian had privately said Delta did not want to be with Musk, relayed by the travel site Live and Let’s Fly from an anonymous social media post and neither confirmed nor denied by Delta, has never been substantiated — the site’s author said as much. Musk invoked it on September 30 when he predicted Bastian would lose his job, and 24/7 Wall St states plainly that nothing confirms that prediction.
Rivals target Delta’s elite flyers
United launched a “Switch to Better Wi-Fi” status match that includes a fast track to Premier 1K, its top published tier, for the highest-level members from Delta and American, according to Live and Let’s Fly as cited by 24/7 Wall St. American rolled out its own tier-by-tier status matches, and Musk posted that both United and American have Starlink.
24/7 Wall St reports that American will bring Starlink to its entire fleet, per Live and Let’s Fly, and that Delta’s third-quarter earnings per share guidance of $2.00 to $2.50 would be an early test of whether elite flyers are leaving.
How much the airlines matter to SpaceX
Yahoo Finance reports SpaceX brought in $18.7 billion of revenue in 2025, $11.4 billion of it from its Connectivity segment. The same report puts analyst consensus for company revenue at $45.3 billion in 2026, rising to $117 billion in 2027 and $201 billion in 2028.
Growth on that scale has to come from businesses much larger than aircraft Wi-Fi, Yahoo Finance says, naming two drivers:
- AI — Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives points to SpaceX’s contracted backlog.
- Wireless — SpaceX said in early October it had bought a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, putting Starlink up against the big US carriers and feeding into how analysts value the satellite business.
Yahoo Finance notes one caveat on the other side of the argument: Amazon Leo has not yet flown on a Delta jet, and if it matches Starlink when it arrives in 2028, Delta’s bet will look better than Musk suggests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What in-flight internet does Delta use while it waits for Amazon Leo?
Delta still relies on Viasat until Leo arrives, according to 24/7 Wall St.
Why did Delta choose Amazon Leo over Starlink?
24/7 Wall St reports that chief executive Ed Bastian argued Amazon offers retailing capability, Prime and video gaming technology that Starlink lacks.
How much Delta revenue is tied to the elite flyers United and American are courting?
Delta expects $9 billion in American Express payments this year, and its premium corporate sales grew 25% last quarter, according to 24/7 Wall St. The outlet says rivals paying to win those customers is a direct risk to that revenue.
Has Delta’s share price reacted to the dispute with Musk?
As of 7:59 PM ET on October 1, 2026, Delta stock traded at $84.15, up 0.82% for the session and up 22.19% year to date, according to 24/7 Wall St. The outlet said the share price so far reflected little concern about the dispute.
Follow Starlink News on Google. Make us a preferred source to see more of our reporting in Google search results.
Comments 1