Sorry, Starlink: JetBlue becomes 1st airline to pick Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites for in-flight Wi-Fi

Amazon’s new broadband satellite constellation just scored a big win.

The company announced on Thursday (Sept. 4) that JetBlue will start using Wi-Fi provided by Project Kuiper satellites on its flights in 2027. It’s the first such commitment Amazon has received from an airline, a number of which have already signed up to use the services of a competitor — SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation.

“Our agreement with Project Kuiper marks an exciting leap forward for us as the hands-down leader in onboard connectivity,” Marty St. George, president of JetBlue, said in an Amazon statement on Thursday. “Whether it’s binge-watching a favorite show, staying connected with loved ones, or wrapping up a work project, we’re always looking for ways to make our customers’ time in the air as connected and productive as they want it to be.”

Project Kuiper is still in the early stages of construction; just 102 of its planned 3,200 satellites have reached low Earth orbit (LEO) to date.

But all 102 of those spacecraft have gone up in the past four months, on four separate rocket launches. And the company plans to move even faster going forward.

“We’re continuing to accelerate our production, processing and deployment rates,” Amazon representatives said in the same statement. “Our goal is to begin delivering service to our first customers later this year, and to roll out more widely as we add coverage and capacity to the network.”

SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation, which also resides in LEO, is the biggest satellite network ever assembled, at more than 8,300 operational craft and counting. The service is up and running, providing connection to customers around the world.

SpaceX has inked Starlink deals with a number of airlines, including Alaskan, Hawaiian, United, Air France and Qatar Airways.

The JetBlue contract isn’t Amazon’s only plane-related Project Kuiper partnership. In April, Amazon signed a deal with France-based aerospace giant Airbus “to integrate Project Kuiper’s connectivity solution into their aircraft catalog,” as Thursday’s statement noted.