Qatar Airways now operates 150 widebody aircraft fitted with Starlink satellite internet and has become the first airline to fly a Boeing 787-9 with the service installed. The achievement followed the completion of installation work across the carrier’s entire Boeing 787-8 sub-fleet. That programme took seven months, after which technicians moved on to the longer 787-9 version.

The 150-aircraft total covers three separate widebody installation programmes completed during scheduled maintenance. The Boeing 777 fleet was fitted in nine months, the Airbus A350 fleet in eight months and the Boeing 787-8 fleet in seven months. Qatar Airways said each programme was completed faster than the previous one.

The airline now describes its Boeing 777, Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 groups as the world’s first and largest Starlink-equipped fleets of their types. Up to 323 Starlink-enabled Qatar Airways flights depart each day. This makes high-speed onboard internet available across a large share of the network rather than on only a limited selection of routes.

Since the service began in October 2024, more than 23 million passengers have connected during over 86,000 Qatar Airways flights. The overall installation programme has passed 83 per cent completion. With about one aircraft in six still awaiting the equipment, the airline is continuing the remaining work while maintaining daily operations.