The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, an internet unit of Amazon, signed a deal with Delta Air Lines to provide in-flight Wi-Fi service on 500 of the airline’s planes starting in 2028. This marks a second major partnership in the satellite space as it accelerates efforts to deploy more satellites. This deal also happens to be an open challenge to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
In a statement, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said, “Delta’s future is global. This agreement gives us the best, fastest and most cost-effective technology available to better connect the world today, and it deepens our work with a global leader that shares our ambition to build what’s next.”
Each Delta Air Lines aircraft will be equipped with a phased-array antenna capable of delivering download speeds of up to 1 Gbps and upload speeds of up to 400 Mbps. Amazon operates its satellites at an altitude of about 370 miles above Earth—over 50 times closer than traditional geostationary systems—helping to cut latency and enhance overall connection quality.
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The deal throws a direct competition to Elon Musk’s Starlink. Amazon’s burgeoning satellite internet service and Starlink are vying for a slice of the in-flight Wi-Fi market. However, Musk’s Starlink satellite network advances in its satellite deployment and global service. Amazon has secured its first agreement of this kind with JetBlue, committing to provide low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite service to a quarter of the airline’s fleet starting in 2027. Airlines are increasingly turning to low-orbit satellite constellations to deliver faster and more reliable in-flight Wi-Fi with fewer disruptions.
“The faster network will enable things like the entire plane to be streaming 4K videos and scenarios where you have people coming from vacation and they wanna upload high-resolution photos, videos, et cetera,” Amazon LEO Vice President Chris Weber said.
Southwest Airlines announced last month that it will adopt Starlink for onboard connectivity. The SpaceX-run service has already partnered with United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines, among others.
Amazon will equip new aircraft from Delta Air Lines with its LEO terminals and plans to begin service on domestic U.S. routes in 2028, according to Delta’s chief marketing and product officer, Ranjan Goswami. Neither company disclosed the financial terms of the agreement. The company has invested at least $10 billion to build a global satellite internet network for consumers and businesses. Since April 2025, Amazon has launched 214 satellites and now plans to accelerate deployment, with more than 20 launches scheduled over the next year, said Chris Weber, vice president of the LEO business.
Amazon has been testing its satellite service with enterprise customers since last year and expects to begin commercial operations within months. The rollout will start in limited regions before expanding alongside the growing constellation.
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Delta currently relies on satellite providers Viasat and Hughes Network Systems across its fleet of about 1,200 aircraft. The airline has delivered in-flight Wi-Fi to roughly 163 million members of its SkyMiles program. Goswami said Delta selected Amazon’s LEO service in part due to its existing partnership with Amazon Web Services.
Amazon has also secured around 100 launch agreements for its satellite program, spanning several years and involving providers such as Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The company is additionally launching satellites aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets.
Meanwhile, SpaceX has rapidly deployed more than 10,000 satellites since 2019, making it the world’s largest satellite operator. Its vertically integrated model, anchored by reusable Falcon 9 rockets, has given it a significant edge in the expanding satellite internet market.
Earlier this year, Amazon requested a two-year extension from the Federal Communications Commission to meet its July 2026 deadline to deploy half of its planned 3,200-satellite constellation. The request drew criticism from SpaceX, while FCC Chair Brendan Carr also questioned the company’s pace of launches.