American Airlines Could Roll Starlink Out Across Its Whole Fleet — 737s, 777s and 787s Included

American Airlines stunned nobody when it signed a Starlink deal in May, but the fine print mattered: the commitment covered only its Airbus narrowbodies — more than 500 aircraft including the A321neo and A321XLR — with installations pencilled in to start in the first quarter of 2027. Now a report suggests the airline is quietly looking at adding Starlink to its Boeing aircraft too: the 737, the 777 and the 787.

That would be a much bigger deal than it sounds. The 737 is the workhorse of American's domestic network, so coverage there would touch millions of short-haul passengers a year. And the 777 and 787 are the airline's long-haul international aircraft — exactly the flights where getting anything done over the Atlantic or Pacific currently involves dodgy, slow gateways and dropped connections. Reliable satellite internet on a ten-hour flight changes how people work, stream and stay in touch.

There's a catch: this is unconfirmed. American hasn't announced anything beyond the Airbus deal, and the report itself is flagged as unofficial, so treat it as a strong rumour rather than a promise. Still, the logic is obvious. Free Wi-Fi is already offered to AAdvantage members across much of American's fleet, but the quality varies depending on the aircraft and whichever provider happens to be bolted to the fuselage. Standardising on Starlink would make 'what will my internet be like?' a much easier question to answer.

The competitive angle is just as clear. United has moved fast on Starlink and made it a centrepiece of its marketing, and fast, free connectivity is quickly shifting from a perk to a baseline expectation. American's existing free, AT&T-sponsored Wi-Fi on most narrowbodies is reportedly decent, but Starlink's low-orbit satellites have set a new bar — anyone who has used it on United tends to come away converted.

For travellers, the practical takeaway is patience. Nothing changes until 2027 at the earliest, and even then the Airbus fleet goes first. If you're booking long-haul American flights in the next year or two, assume the internet will be hit-or-miss. But if you regularly fly American domestically or across the oceans and connectivity matters to you, this rumour — if it lands — is the upgrade worth waiting for. Watch for a formal announcement before letting Wi-Fi sway your airline choice.