WASHINGTON—SpaceX signed its first deal with an air carrier to provide in-flight wireless internet using the Starlink satellite network, the space company said on Thursday as it jockeys with other burgeoning satellite firms to put high-speed internet on commercial airlines.
The company, owned by Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, has been in talks for months with airlines to provide Starlink internet in-flight, a key prong in SpaceX’s strategy to scoop up enterprise customers beyond consumers and households in rural areas of the globe with little to no internet access.
The deal is with semi-private jet service JSX and involves equipping 100 airplanes with Starlink terminals, with the first Starlink-connected plane taking flight by year’s end, the charter company said in a statement. A JSX spokesperson declined to disclose the value of the partnership.
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