First Lufthansa Jet with Starlink Wi-Fi next week

Lufthansa Group passengers will in future be able to surf the internet and stream using their own devices, the German carrier said on Monday.

The first aircraft to take off with the new Wi-Fi service will be a medium-haul Airbus A320neo operated by Lufthansa's main airline on August 19, the airline said.

The company claims to be among the first airlines worldwide to offer Starlink, the service provided by SpaceX, the company owned by US billionaire Elon Musk. Starlink has launched more than 9,000 satellites for the service.

Other airlines have already announced plans to switch to Starlink. In Europe, Air Baltic is among the pioneers.

Internet access will remain free of charge for all status customers as well as passengers who create a user account for the Travel ID, Lufthansa said. The company did not disclose the investment volume.

The necessary equipment will be installed on the aircraft during scheduled maintenance. "By 2029, all around 850 aircraft in the group will be equipped with this technology," executive board member Dieter Vranckx said.

Aircraft operated by Lufthansa subsidiaries Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines will be next in line.

Passengers will be required to use headphones when playing audio or video content, refrain from voice and video calls and not broadcast live streams from the aircraft.