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- Skytrax's World Airline Awards introduced a new award in 2026: World's Best Onboard WiFi.
- Qatar Airways won first place, followed by Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.
- Seven out of the top 10 airlines are partnered with Elon Musk's Starlink.
Move aside priority boarding and extra legroom — airlines are investing in high-speed in-flight WiFi as a key amenity to attract customers.
This year, Skytrax's World Airline Awards added a World's Best Onboard WiFi category "to reflect the importance to today's customer experience of fast and free onboard connectivity," Skytrax wrote in a press release.
The ranking was determined by surveying passengers from over 100 nationalities between September 2025 and August 2026 in the world's largest airline passenger satisfaction survey.
One WiFi provider popped up again and again in Skytrax's ranking of winning airlines: Starlink.
Of the top 10 airlines recognized for having the best in-flight WiFi offerings, seven have partnerships with Elon Musk's high-speed internet company — an indication of how Starlink is cornering the market.
Over 40 carriers worldwide have partnered with Starlink, which provides streaming-quality WiFi on flights via its network of over 11,000 satellites.
Here are the top 10 airlines with the best onboard WiFi, ranked by passengers.
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Emirates was one of the first airlines to offer Starlink WiFi on its A380 aircraft, and plans to add Starlink to its fleet by mid-2027.
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EVA Air's onboard WiFi service is provided by Panasonic Avionics Corporation.
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As the first UK airline to partner with Starlink, Virgin Atlantic began offering flights equipped with streaming-quality WiFi in May.
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Singapore Airlines will begin rolling out Starlink WiFi on its Airbus A350 and Airbus A380 planes in 2027.
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Hawaiian Airlines became the first major US carrier to offer Starlink in February 2024 before merging with Alaska Airlines that September.
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Amazon Leo, which operates around 400 low-orbit satellites, will be available on JetBlue flights starting in 2027.
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Alaska Airlines announced its deal with Starlink in August 2025 after merging with Hawaiian Airlines, and is rolling out Starlink WiFi across its fleet.
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As of September, United offers Starlink on 560 aircraft, and plans to add it to its entire fleet.
United has made efforts to lure Delta customers by touting its Starlink WiFi.
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Amazon Leo will be available on Delta Air Lines flights starting in 2028.
Delta and Musk have been at odds over Delta's decision not to choose Starlink, with Musk criticizing the airline and its CEO, Ed Bastian, in posts on X. Bastian told CNBC on Friday that he pays little heed to the feud.
"I'm a big fan of Starlink," Bastian said. "I'm a fan of what Elon does. I drive a Tesla. OK? So there's nothing. All this nonsense about being personal is not true at all."
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Qatar Airways won Skytrax's inaugural World's Best Onboard WiFi award.
All of Qatar Airways' Boeing 777s and Airbus A350s feature Starlink. The airline is now expanding the service to its Boeing 787 fleet.