WestJet has officially hit a milestone — its 100th Boeing 737 is now equipped with Starlink satellite internet, in partnership with Telus. The airline plans to finish installing Starlink across all of its 737-800 and 737-8 MAX aircraft by the end of 2025.
If you’re a WestJet Rewards member, there’s some good news: you can access free inflight Wi-Fi powered by Starlink. Just register before your flight, connect to the “WestJet WiFi” network once onboard, and follow the prompts. You’ll need to watch a quick 30-second Telus ad, but after that, you’re free to browse, stream, and scroll at full throttle. No more ads come after that.
I tested Starlink on a recent domestic flight using my iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the speeds were wild. On Speedtest.net via Safari, I saw download speeds hit 382.85 Mbps, while the Speedtest app reported 274 Mbps download, 22 Mbps upload, and 33 ms ping.
Even with NordVPN running, Starlink didn’t slow down. I was able to stream live TV, watch Netflix, and even FaceTime mid-flight (incognito of course) without a single hiccup. Compared to Air Canada’s Eutelsat-based Wi-Fi, WestJet’s Starlink setup feels light-years ahead.
At 35,000 feet, it’s impressive to have Wi-Fi that actually works like it does on the ground (and better than my home Wi-Fi). For anyone who hasn’t experienced Starlink in the sky, this is truly a next-level upgrade — and one that makes long flights feel a lot shorter.
Benefits include being able to stream directly from your favourite apps on your own device (I was watching a Blue Jays game), without being limited to the offline downloads you set up beforehand or WestJet Connect’s limited in-flight entertainment library. The flight I was on didn’t have seat-back screens —WestJet requires passengers to use their own devices to access content.
Recently, WestJet and Telus linked their rewards programs, offering their customers even more perks to redeem when flying and paying their phone bills.
Have you experienced Starlink aboard your WestJet flight? What did you think?
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Elbows up
Elbows up, pants down
Gary, didn't you use the same hyped-up marketing language describing Roam Mobility?