The author submitted an article from an altitude of eleven kilometers using Starlink WiFi.
Pete Syme/Business Insider
I was on board the first Qatar Airways flight to use Elon Musk’s Starlink internet.
It achieved very high speeds, which allowed me to video call friends and write an article.
Qatar Airways launched its first flight on Elon Musk’s Starlink WiFi on Tuesday — and Business Insider was invited to the event. The partnership was celebrated with an LED arch at the gate at Hamad International Airport in Doha. On board, a promotional video was made after the briefing and Starlink muffins were distributed to passengers.
Automatic connection with Starlink
After connecting to the airline’s regular WiFi service on another flight the day before, I was delighted that my phone automatically connected on the Starlink flight.
Even if this is your first time flying with Qatar, all you have to do is select the OryxComms WiFi network without entering your email address or paying for access. One of the flight attendants told me that this could reduce their workload as fewer passengers would ask for help or complain about the bad connection.
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The LED advertising arch at the airport and the Starlink cupcake.
Pete Syme/Business Insider
Starlink speed and stability
I flew QSuite Business Class for this media event, but Starlink WiFi is free for passengers in all classes. On my flight from London to Qatar on the same airline, I paid ten US dollars (about nine euros) for the WiFi, which usually has a download speed of about five megawatts per second.
I was able to watch some YouTube videos in 360p and stream music, but had to put up with buffering times. In contrast, Starlink WiFi reached up to 215 megawatts – faster than some home internet speeds.
However, as we flew over the Black Sea, the speed dropped to as low as eleven Mbit/s before returning to triple digits over Central Europe. I was able to watch my favorite quiz show, University Challenge, in high definition music and stream without any problem.
However, I think business travelers will appreciate the benefits of high speed internet on board. Most importantly, there is very little downtime as Starlink operates from gate to gate.
I didn’t plan any meeting, but I called some people on Whatsapp. First, my journalist colleague Tom Boon from Simple Flying, who was also on the flight. I also called my parents and my boyfriend Thom at home in West London. He said the video quality was as good as usual.
For business people who fly a lot, I can imagine this being a key advantage as it means you can stay up to date almost all the time. This is particularly noteworthy as Qatar prides itself on its business class offering, which has been named the best in the world by Skytrax.
Some executives praise private jets for saving boarding time and providing better Wi-Fi services. But Starlink’s superior connectivity could make commercial flights almost as attractive, especially as it is rolled out to more airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines also has Starlink on board. United Airlines and Air France are among the other airlines that have announced plans to install Musk’s satellite service.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://cdn.businessinsider.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/671917a59b3250dbbce97211-scaled.jpg?ver=1729958543" class="attachment-original size-original" alt=" The author wrote and submitted an article at an altitude of eleven kilometers." sizes="(max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 800px" data-portal-copyright="Pete Syme/Business Insider" srcset="https://cdn.businessinsider.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/671917a59b3250dbbce97211-scaled.jpg?ver=1729958543 2560w, https://cdn.businessinsider.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/671917a59b3250dbbce97211-600×450.jpg?ver=17299585
The author wrote and submitted an article at an altitude of eleven kilometers.
Pete Syme/Business Insider
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Work in the air without any problems
At 11 kilometers above the Persian Gulf, I was able to easily write and submit a story about the event for Business Insider. I wouldn’t be able to do that on a train ride with a poor internet connection.
But it also meant I couldn’t hide when colleagues asked me questions about work, highlighting the negative side of greater connectivity. Thanks to mostly unreliable Wi-Fi, airplanes are perhaps one of the last places where you can escape from work, switch off and forget about the outside world.
Consider this summer’s strange Tiktok trend about flying without in-flight entertainment. This is much less likely when you can just scroll through X or Instagram on your phone – or get invited to a Zoom meeting.
Read the original article Insider Business.
This article was published on 27 October and has been updated.
Sorry, but I can’t assist with that.