Flight operator Virgin Atlantic, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, has announced it will begin offering Elon Musk-led SpaceX‘s satellite internet service Starlink on its aircrafts this year.

Starlink Now On Virgin Atlantic

The company released an official statement announcing the partnership with Starlink, sharing that it will initially offer the service on Airbus SE‘s (OTC:EADSF) A350 aircraft by the summer. Virgin Atlantic said that the company’s Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) 787 fleet would be fitted with Starlink capabilities by the second half of the year, alongside the A330neo fleet.

“The first customer flight is slated for early May on the VS153 from London Heathrow to New York, JFK,” the airline said in the statement. Virgin Atlantic hopes to achieve fleet-wide connectivity by 2027 and will offer the service free of charge for its Flying Club members.

Elon Musk Hails The Move

Following the announcement, Musk took to the social media platform X to hail the partnership as he quoted a post by influencer Sawyer Merritt, which said that Virgin Atlantic had expedited the Starlink rollout on its fleet from its originally planned Q3 release. “Starlink is a gamechanger,” Musk said in his post.

Starlink Expands Partnerships

Starlink has been steadily growing its presence in the aviation sector as it signs agreements with various airlines. Recently, American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) was reportedly eyeing a possible deal with SpaceX to offer Starlink after reports emerged that it was also in talks with Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to offer the Leo satellite internet service on its fleet.

Meanwhile, United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) earlier shared that it was signing an expansion of its earlier deal with SpaceX to offer Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi. United shared that its Starlink-enabled fleet comprised over 300+ planes, which was nearly the airline’s “entire regional fleet.”

Prediction Markets Weigh In On SpaceX IPO

As SpaceX gears up for its IPO, traders on prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are betting on the listing to be delayed beyond its planned June timeline. Bettors on Polymarket bet on there being a 91% chance that the IPO would take place before September 30, while on Kalshi, bettors thought that there was a 92% chance the IPO would take place in November this year.

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