WestJet and Telus have unveiled the first phase of a strategic partnership to enhance the inflight experience for WestJet passengers by introducing fast, free internet provided by Telus and delivered by SpaceX’s Starlink.
“Through our strategic partnership with Telus, we are setting a new standard in the Canadian airline industry by offering Starlink’s revolutionary inflight connectivity,” said John Weatherill, WestJet Group Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer.
In the coming months, additional exclusive benefits for WestJet Rewards members and Telus customers will be announced.
“The future of inflight connectivity is here, and we’re excited to enhance the flying experience for guests and bring more value to WestJet Rewards members and Telus customers,” said Zainul Mawji, Executive Vice-President and President, Telus Consumer Solutions, in a statement to iPhone in Canada.
WestJet will become the largest North American airline and the first commercial Boeing 737 operator to offer Starlink’s Wi-Fi. The service’s low-Earth satellite internet was chosen for its high-bandwidth, low-latency internet, allowing passengers to stream videos and play online games. Download speeds with Starlink easily surpass 200 Mbps or more.
The new platform will debut before the end of 2024, with installation on WestJet’s narrow-body fleet by the end of 2025 and wide-body aircraft by the end of 2026. Access will be free for WestJet Rewards members. This is exciting news as inflight Wi-Fi is typically very slow and also expensive. Now it will be free on WestJet flights. Let the streaming begin.
We have Rogers working with SpaceX as the latter’s partner for Starlink Direct to Cell, while Telus is now working with WestJet for Starlink for inflight Wi-Fi. Will Bell partner with SpaceX for something soon, too?
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Curious why Telus is involved… can Starlink not just do this alone? I am a Starlink user and do not want to see having to go through the legacy ISPs to get Starlink.
How many strikes will happen after this?
West jet, telus and starlink, two greedy companies and one nonsense CEO that go hand in hand with each other all while Canadian's pay the highest flight prices domestically.