Not all inflight WiFi is created equal. Starlink, Gogo 5G, Viasat, Inmarsat GX, SES, and Panasonic eXConnect differ dramatically in speed, latency, ocean coverage, and which airlines use them. This guide compares every major provider with real specs so you know exactly what to expect before you board.
All major commercial aviation WiFi providers ranked by typical passenger speed.
| Provider | Typical Speed | Latency |
|---|---|---|
Amazon Kuiper Amazon | 150 Mbps | 40ms |
StarlinkBest SpaceX | 150 Mbps | 30ms |
Gogo 5G Gogo | 30 Mbps | 20ms |
SES SES | 25 Mbps | 150ms |
Inmarsat GX Inmarsat | 20 Mbps | 620ms |
Viasat Viasat | 12 Mbps | 650ms |
Panasonic eXConnect Panasonic Avionics | 12 Mbps | 630ms |
Speeds are per-aircraft totals. Individual passenger speeds are lower and depend on concurrent usage. LEO = Low Earth Orbit · GEO = Geostationary · ATG = Air-to-Ground · MEO = Medium Earth Orbit
Gogo is the longest-established inflight WiFi company and still dominates US domestic aviation. Their newest system, Gogo 5G, uses a network of ground-based 5G towers to deliver up to 75Mbps per aircraft on continental US routes. It is reliable for email and light browsing, and has low latency since signals travel to nearby ground towers rather than satellites.
The critical limitation: Gogo 5G only works within range of US ground towers. The moment a flight leaves the continental United States — heading to Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, or any transatlantic destination — Gogo loses signal entirely. For any international or ocean-crossing route, Gogo provides no connectivity.
Starlink operates at 100–350Mbps with seamless global coverage including all ocean routes. For US domestic routes specifically, Gogo 5G can be competitive in speed. For everything else, Starlink is in a different category.
| Feature | Starlink Aviation | Gogo 5G |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Low Earth Orbit satellite | Air-to-ground 5G towers |
| Typical speed (per aircraft) | 100–350 Mbps | Up to 75 Mbps |
| Latency | 20–40ms | ~20ms |
| US domestic routes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| International routes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Transatlantic / transpacific | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Coverage | Global (all oceans) | Continental US only |
| Netflix / video streaming | ✅ HD quality | ⚠️ Limited on busy flights |
| Zoom / video calls | ✅ Reliable | ✅ On US routes |
Viasat is widely deployed on airlines including American Airlines, JetBlue, and others. It uses geostationary satellites parked at 35,786km — nearly 36,000km above Earth. That distance creates an unavoidable physics problem: every data packet must travel 71,572km round trip just to reach the satellite and back, resulting in latency exceeding 600 milliseconds.
For comparison, Starlink orbits at 550km. Its latency is 20–40ms. That 15x latency difference is the difference between a Zoom call that works and one that doesn't. It's the difference between HD streaming and constant buffering. It is a fundamental physical constraint — no amount of engineering can make a signal travel 36,000km faster.
Inmarsat GX, Panasonic eXConnect, and SES face the same geostationary physics constraints. SES uses a medium earth orbit at 8,000km, delivering ~150ms latency — better than GEO but still significantly worse than Starlink.
Starlink is available today on these airlines. Fleet coverage varies — check individual airline pages for current aircraft counts.
| Airline |
|---|
| United AirlinesUA |
| JSXXE |
| airBalticBT |
| ZIPAIR TokyoZG |
| Aero |
| ArajetDM |
Capability depends on both speed and latency. A system may have adequate bandwidth but too much latency for real-time applications like video calls. — = depends on route and load.
| Activity | Starlink | Gogo 5G | Viasat | GEO (others) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stream Netflix / Disney+ (HD) | ||||
| Zoom / FaceTime video calls | ||||
| Spotify / music streaming | ||||
| YouTube (HD video) | ||||
| Email and Slack | ||||
| VPN / corporate access | ||||
| Online gaming | ||||
| Works over oceans | ||||
| Gate-to-gate service | ||||
| Multiple users simultaneously |
GEO (others) covers Inmarsat GX, Panasonic eXConnect, and SES. — = depends on conditions. Gogo 5G results are for US domestic routes only.
These airlines have signed Starlink agreements and are awaiting or beginning fleet-wide installations. Check each airline page for the latest rollout timeline.
Starlink Aviation is the fastest and most capable inflight WiFi system available in 2026, delivering 100–350Mbps per aircraft with latency under 40ms — fast enough for Netflix, Zoom, and real gaming. However, it is only available on airlines that have signed agreements with SpaceX and completed installation. If your airline does not yet have Starlink, Gogo 5G offers reasonable speeds on US domestic routes, while Inmarsat GX provides more consistent global coverage than older Viasat systems.
Starlink delivers dramatically faster speeds than Gogo. Starlink Aviation provides 100–350Mbps per aircraft with latency under 40ms and works globally including over oceans. Gogo 5G uses air-to-ground (ATG) tower networks delivering up to 75Mbps but only works within the continental United States — it loses signal entirely over oceans and remote regions. For transatlantic or transpacific flights, Starlink is the only meaningful option.
As of 2026, over 30 airlines have signed Starlink agreements. Airlines with Starlink fully installed include United Airlines (258+ aircraft), Qatar Airways (100+ aircraft), Hawaiian Airlines, JSX, airBaltic, and ZIPAIR. Airlines currently rolling out Starlink include Air France, Emirates, SAS, Southwest Airlines, and WestJet. Visit our airlines page for real-time fleet status and aircraft counts for every carrier.
Yes — dramatically so. Starlink Aviation delivers 100–350Mbps per aircraft with latency under 40ms. Viasat's geostationary satellite system provides just 5–25Mbps per aircraft with latency exceeding 600ms — too slow and too laggy for video streaming or video calls. The difference is the orbit altitude: Starlink operates at 550km (low earth orbit) while Viasat operates at 35,786km (geostationary), creating a fundamental speed-of-light latency gap that cannot be engineered away.
Starlink Aviation delivers 100–350Mbps to the aircraft. Individual passenger speeds depend on how many people are online simultaneously. With a full plane of passengers, you can typically expect 20–50Mbps per device — still fast enough for HD streaming, video calls, and all work applications. This is 5–20x faster than traditional inflight WiFi systems on average.
It depends on the system. Starlink works seamlessly over all oceans — its 6,000+ low earth orbit satellites provide global coverage. Gogo 5G only works within the continental United States using ground-based towers, so it does not work over oceans at all. Viasat, Inmarsat GX, SES, and Panasonic eXConnect all use geostationary satellites and do provide ocean coverage, but with very high latency (600ms+) and limited bandwidth.
Reliably, only on Starlink. Video calls require low latency — ideally under 150ms for smooth, natural conversation. Starlink delivers 20–40ms latency, making Zoom and FaceTime calls genuinely usable for the first time in aviation history. Gogo 5G has similarly low latency (~20ms) but only on US domestic routes. Viasat, Inmarsat, and other geostationary systems have 600ms+ latency, which makes video calls choppy and unusable. Even audio calls can be difficult on GEO satellite systems.
Starlink and Gogo 5G have the lowest latency among inflight WiFi systems — both under 40ms in optimal conditions. Starlink operates at 550km altitude while Gogo uses ground towers, giving both excellent response times. SES (medium earth orbit at 8,000km) delivers around 150ms latency. All geostationary systems — Viasat, Inmarsat GX, and Panasonic eXConnect — have latency exceeding 600ms due to the 35,786km signal round trip, making them unsuitable for real-time applications.
The Starlink aviation rollout is accelerating rapidly. Southwest Airlines, Air France, and Emirates are currently installing Starlink across their fleets and expect significant coverage by end of 2026. Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa Group carriers, and Korean Air are among the major airlines that have announced agreements but have not yet begun installations. Over the next two years, Starlink is expected to become the dominant inflight WiFi technology on long-haul and premium routes globally.
Use our real-time flight checker to see the Starlink probability for your exact flight number, route, or airline.