British Airways Finishes Starlink Wi-Fi Rollout Across Its A350 Fleet

British Airways has completed the installation of Starlink Wi-Fi on all 18 of its Airbus A350s, with the finish confirmed on October 21, 2026. The work took just over a month and came after a pause of about five months over the summer. Much of the rest of the airline’s fleet is still waiting.

Where the Rollout Stands

The A350 is not where BA started. The airline’s first Starlink aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 flying from the UK to Houston, which BA announced in March as the first Starlink flight by a UK airline. The installation on the 787-8 is still ongoing.

The coverage does not say whether the A350 is the first BA fleet type to be fully equipped, although the unfinished 787-8 program suggests it may be.

Why the Summer Pause

BA stopped fitting Starlink for roughly five months because it could not spare aircraft. According to the Bulkhead Seat, the long-haul fleet is stretched by Rolls-Royce engine problems, delayed 787-10 deliveries, the delayed 777X certification and the earlier retirement of the 747-400. The same outlet said work could be interrupted again over the Christmas and New Year period.

Each retrofit removes an aircraft from service. The Bulkhead Seat cited United’s average of about eight hours per Starlink installation; BA has not published its own figure. Aviation A2Z added that some BA 787s went up to 13 years without any Wi-Fi system, which makes those installations more work than upgrading existing equipment.

What Passengers Get

BA’s press release says Starlink is free for all customers in every cabin, with high download speeds – describing connectivity as running “from take-off to touchdown.” 

BA’s Wi-Fi page separately lists paid packages and free messaging for Club members, which AwardWallet describes as applying to aircraft without Starlink. Whether Starlink passengers must sign in to the Club is therefore not clear from the coverage.

It has also been noted that connectivity cannot be guaranteed on any flight.

What Comes Next

BA says it expects its whole fleet of more than 300 aircraft to have Starlink within two years, a target the coverage puts at March 2028. A footnote to the press release says the program covers long-haul and short-haul aircraft but excludes BA CityFlyer.

No start date has been announced for the 787-9, and several of those aircraft currently have no in-flight internet at all, according to Aviation A2Z. The Bulkhead Seat reported that the plan is to move from the 787-8 to the 787-9 and then to other long-haul types, including the A380. BA has not published a schedule for individual fleets.

The airline’s Starlink order is part of a wider deal. In November 2025, IAG agreed to equip more than 500 aircraft across five of its airlines: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL and Vueling.

What We Do Not Yet Know

BA has not said when the 787-9 work will begin, which aircraft are next after the 787s, or how the Christmas period will affect progress. It has also not given a per-aircraft installation time. Until then, passengers on aircraft that have not been fitted will not have Starlink.