easyJet has held talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink regarding the introduction of on-board Wi‑Fi, but the British low-cost carrier’s chief executive said on Thursday that, at present, the financial case is not compelling enough to move forward.
Reporting on a post-earnings briefing, the CEO said the Starlink product delivers fast streaming capabilities and called it "a really good one," but added that "at the moment ... where we are with our talks with Starlink, the economics aren’t quite working for us."
The remarks follow a public exchange earlier this month between Musk and Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, about the expense of fitting Starlink’s Wi‑Fi solution. O’Leary has argued that the fuel penalty from antennae mounted on aircraft tops could amount to roughly $200 million per year, and he said only a small share of budget travellers would be willing to pay for the service.
The easyJet CEO noted that the carrier is not limiting its discussions to a single supplier. He described the sector as a "rapidly changing market" and said easyJet is in conversations with other providers as well. The airline will keep evaluating the range of offerings and their price points as they develop.
On timing, the CEO indicated that easyJet will select a service when economics and product fit align, saying: "When the time is right, we’ll pick the right service," but he did not provide a timeline for when such a decision might be made.
Alongside these remarks on connectivity, the company continues to weigh the trade-offs between passenger amenities, potential additional fuel costs and the willingness of its customer base to pay for upgraded in-flight services.
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