By Vera Dvorakova
Feb 13 (Reuters) - Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS.OL) does not plan to bring Starlink’s Wi-Fi onto its aircraft for now, as the budget airline offers a paid service from another vendor on its flights, CEO Geir Karlsen told Reuters on Friday.
Major airlines like Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) and Qatar Airways are becoming important customers for Starlink, but the product is less appealing to budget carriers that rely on ancillary services to compensate for low ticket prices.
“As far as I know, … if you install Starlink, you’re not able to … charge for the use towards your passengers,” Karlsen said.
He added Starlink was not certified for the Boeing 737 aircraft, although it will be in the future. Ryanair (RYA.I) CEO Michael O’Leary last month publicly clashed with Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX operates Starlink, about the use of its services. O’Leary said that Starlink would cost the airline up to $250 million a year. Another budget airline, EasyJet (EZJ.L) , said in January it was exploring a Starlink Wi-Fi deal, but “the economics” were not quite working for it.

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Norwegian Air Shuttle's CEO, Geir Karlsen, announced that the airline will not adopt Starlink's Wi-Fi service due to its existing paid service from another vendor. Major airlines like Lufthansa and Qatar Airways are utilizing Starlink, but budget carriers find it less appealing as they rely on ancillary services for revenue. Karlsen noted that Starlink is not yet certified for Boeing 737 aircraft, although it may be in the future. Other budget airlines, like Ryanair and EasyJet, have also expressed concerns about the costs associated with Starlink.

Norwegian Air does not plan to use Starlink Wi-Fi, CEO says