These Airlines Offer The Fastest In-Flight Wi-Fi

With how connected we are to our devices, it's particularly noticeable when Wi-Fi is broken or slow, even in situations where we may expect some hiccups, like on airplanes. Airline Wi-Fi isn't known for its efficiency or speed, which is extra vexing when you have to pay extra for a mediocre service. After all, you can't use the normal methods for improving your Wi-Fi speed on a plane. However, some airlines do offer reliable Wi-Fi that's even faster than that of the national average.

According to an Ookla study, the airline with the fastest median download speed in 2025 was United Airlines, with an average of 319.99 Mbps. That sits far above the 214 Mbps U.S. average speed for the same year. After United, Ookla ranked Emirates in second place with 308.65 Mbps, airBaltic in third place with 305.77 Mbps, and Alaska Airlines in fourth place with 304.02 Mbps. 

The study also looked at Wi-Fi consistency across different airlines. Ookla defined the Wi-Fi service as consistent as long as it offered a minimum 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed throughout the flight. This was to show how reliable the service was rather than just measuring the peak. All four of the airlines with the fastest Wi-Fi hit that threshold over 50% of the time, with airBaltic topping the list at a truly impressive 98.3% reliability. These airlines all have one thing in common that can explain why they are so fast: they use Starlink.

Starlink is a satellite-based internet service created and owned by SpaceX that uses thousands of Starlink satellites to deliver impressive connection speeds. Some users even say that Starlink is better than their regular home internet, especially in rural areas. The reason it can deliver such fast connection speeds is because Starlink uses low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which are more efficient due to their closer proximity to Earth's surface and low latency. Older geostationary-Earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems were farther out in Earth's orbit, and the increased distance caused slower speeds and higher latency.

Airline Wi-Fi speeds are a perfect example of how LEO-based internet outmatches traditional methods. As Ookla explains, "No other in-flight connectivity (IFC) provider approached triple-digit speeds. Conversely, no airline with Starlink was below 100 Mbps median download speed." That makes it clear that, even at its worst, Starlink is faster than other providers at their best. For example, United still uses Intelsat and Inmarsat on some planes that don't have Starlink installed, which have much slower download speeds of 56.48 Mbps and 15.34 Mbps, respectively.

The good news is that more airlines are due to improve their Wi-Fi speeds in the coming years. American Airlines recently announced it would begin installing Starlink on over 500 aircraft starting in Q1 2027. Approximately 40 airlines in total either have Starlink installed, are installing it, or plan to install it in the coming years. JetBlue and Delta have deals with Amazon to bring Amazon Leo (formerly known as Project Kuiper) to their planes in the coming years. As Leo isn't available yet, it remains to be seen how it will compare to Starlink. But at this point, the stats make it pretty clear that LEO is superior where airline Wi-Fi speeds are concerned.