Delta CEO Ed Bastian defended the airline's decision to partner with Amazon Leo over Elon Musk's Starlink for in-flight WiFi in a Bloomberg interview. He said:
“Amazon brings a lot more than just satellite technology. They bring great retailing capability and Amazon Prime and video gaming technologies, which Starlink does not have. I think the opportunities, in terms of the improved bandwidth with a much lower price point than what we've ever seen from Starlink, will make a big difference.”
Bastian's comments came just a few days after Musk disparaged the airline for its decision to partner with Amazon Leo, saying:
“SpaceX requires that there be no annoying ‘portal' to use Starlink. Starlink WiFi must just work effortlessly every time, as though you were at home. Delta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for their customers. Hard to see how that is a winning strategy. They will lose customers over this.”
Musk was referring to the fact that Starlink has pushed for a more seamless in-flight WiFi experience with direct connections between passengers and the web, while airlines prefer to route access through their own branded systems. Dozens of airlines have struck deals with Starlink to give passengers free WiFi including Air France, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Qatar, and United Airlines, though the service is still being rolled out.
Starlink has launched over 10,000 satellites into orbit, while Amazon Leo has just 300 — but how many satellites does a company really need to provide WiFi on an airplane? As a point of reference, OneWeb, a direct competitor of Starlink and Leo, claims full global coverage with just 618 satellites. As long as Amazon can provide coverage on Delta's flight routes, that's all they require.
I also see the value in working with an Internet provider that offers seamless access to its entire ecosystem of products, as I'd imagine that the overwhelming majority of Delta flyers are existing Amazon Prime members.
Plus, am I crazy for thinking this, but do you find it far more dependable to work with Amazon than an Elon Musk company? As much grief as I've given Amazon over the years, they certainly offer a dependable suite of products. Whereas, you never quite know what Elon Musk is going to do.
