Emirates Makes Big Announcement

As doors open at the 2025 Dubai Airshow, Emirates has made a landmark announcement about in-flight connectivity.

The Dubai-based carrier has confirmed it’ll deploy Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire in-service fleet, with the Boeing 777 aircraft set to be the first to welcome the change as early as this month.

Emirates is hopeful that the rollout of the state-of-the-art connectivity will be completed by the mid-point of 2027, and that customers will have a complementary ultra-fast service that mimics ground capabilities but at cruising altitude.

The company says that, with this adopted on its aircraft, customers will be able not just to stream content, make work calls, game, browse social media, and more, whether through personal devices or via the IFE.

The entire fleet is also set to benefit, Emirates confirming that, over the next two years, a fleet of 232 aircraft will be equipped with this. A6-EPF already has connectivity, which is the aircraft currently on display at the Dubai Airshow.

Immediately after the Dubai Airshow concludes, the first commercial passenger flight will depart with Starlink, A6-EPF, to re-enter service; following this, the fleet-wide rollout will truly accelerate.

Partnering with Starlink is another defining moment in our continuous commitment to ensuring our customers ‘fly better’. We’re introducing the world’s fastest Wi-Fi, elevating what passengers can expect from inflight connectivity, like seamless productivity, real-time communication with loved ones, and uninterrupted connection to their digital lives. But that’s just one piece of the transformation happening across our fleet.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline

Emirates is hopeful it can install Starlink on 14 aircraft each month. Priority in the latter stages of this year will be with the Boeing 777 fleet. Connectivity on the A380 will begin in February 2026.

How this will work is that two antennas on each Boeing 777 unit will be installed, and an industry-first three antennas on each A380; this means Emirates will be able to bring passengers the highest levels of connectivity, irrespective of cabin class.

More importantly, the carrier has confirmed that Starlink installation will be complimentary for passengers, meaning the usage price will be zero and the service will be free across all cabins. What Emirates is saying can be achieved through one click with no payment and no strings attached.

Emirates Continues Focus On Passengers

The rollout of Starlink connectivity to passengers is ultimately part of the airline’s broader efforts to ramp up customer satisfaction levels across the fleet.

The Dubai-based carrier is already in the midst of a significant, multi-billion-dollar fleet refurbishment, which sees multiple cabins undergo a fresh overhaul to bring these jets up to the standards customers have come to expect.

Additionally, Emirates knows that, through its investments, it can personally align some of its aging fleet types with the next generation of models, which are now inbound or in the coming years, such as the A350 and 777X.

Emirates has accelerated the retrofit programme and the number of aircraft involved, as a result of the delayed delivery of next-generation aircraft from planemakers such as Airbus and Boeing.

To date, the carrier says the nearly 220-aircraft retrofit programme has seen 76 aircraft fully refurbished, re-entering service with all-new, redesigned business-class seats, refreshed first-class suites, and elevated finishes throughout the cabin.

The airline also points to the brand-new premium economy, which it has been heavily rolling out across its aircraft, and says it has been a hit with passengers, offering greater options for how they want to travel.