Air New Zealand to introduce Starlink onto domestic flights
Kiwi travellers will soon enjoy complimentary high-speed internet during select domestic flights.
Image: Noah Stohr-Waldren & Jason Todd Roberts
Air New Zealand is collaborating with Starlink, a satellite internet service provider, to conduct a trial of in-flight internet on two domestic aircraft starting in late 2024. The trials will be conducted on a Domestic A320 and an ATR 72 turboprop, which will be the first turboprop in the world to have internet access.
The trial is scheduled to last for a period of four to six months. If successful, Starlink Internet will be implemented across the entirety of the airline's remaining domestic fleet, starting in 2025. Passengers on board domestic Air New Zealand flights will soon be able to stream video content seamlessly thanks to the high-speed and low-latency in-flight internet.
Air New Zealand chief digital officer Nikhil Ravishankar said it’s a “pretty big deal for the airline”.
Image: Noah Stohr-Waldren
“When we think particularly about domestic and regional connectivity, what we’re offering is an alternative to driving long distances. And now the ability to do that and do work while you're in the air as if you were in the office, or engage in content as you would on the ground, I think that’s a pretty exciting step and change in what we have been able to offer in our domestic service” Ravishankar said.
Business travellers can continue working during the flight, while leisure travellers will have the convenience of listening to podcasts and watching Netflix shows in real time, eliminating the need to download them beforehand. It's important to note that making calls is not allowed, in accordance with current Civil Aviation Authority regulations.
“And I’m pretty sure from time to time we’ll have to remind a few people not to access that, and again, per regulations, if we have to block off some content, that’s something we intend to do. That regulatory obligation still stands, either on the airline or the customers travelling,” the chief digital officer said.
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While internet access would technically be from gate to gate, during takeoff and landing the service can be switched off in order to meet CAA obligations, said Ravishankar.
If some people might feel the internet is unnecessary on short domestic flights, Ravishankar believes the demand is there.
Image: Noah Stohr-Waldren
Bringing internet to the ATR 72 will be a world first.
“It’s an aircraft we use a lot to connect the regions and the main hubs across NZ,” said Ravishankar. “And we thought if we were going to do this, we needed to find a way of solving that for the turboprops as well, so the regional customers could get the same access as the main trunk customers.
“We worked really hard to make that happen. It’s a fantastic collaboration with Starlink, ATR and our engineers and technologists at the airline – something we’re very proud of.”
For the time being, the Starlink trial will exclusively cover domestic flights. Air New Zealand currently offers Wi-Fi connectivity on all its international jets, except for wet-lease and dry-lease aircraft, utilizing geostationary satellite connectivity from high-earth orbit satellites. Starlink, on the other hand, employs LEO (low-earth orbit) satellites, positioned closer to Earth. The advantage of this lower orbit is the continuous presence of satellites overhead or nearby, ensuring stronger and more reliable signals.
Image: Noah Stohr-Waldren
Jason Fritch, Vice President of Starlink at SpaceX, expressed pride in the collaboration with Air New Zealand, stating, "We are pleased to partner with Air New Zealand to introduce Starlink's high-speed internet to their aircraft, extending this transformative in-flight connectivity experience to a broader audience worldwide."