SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently alleged that Delta Airlines rejected its space internet service Starlink in favor of Amazon's Project Kuiper, also known as Leo. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the world's richest man claimed that the real issue was Delta requiring passengers to access in-flight Wi-Fi through the Delta Sync portal, which forces customers to log in with a SkyMiles account number. Now, Delta Airlines has responded to Musk's claim.
Delta Airlines Responds
In a statement to PC Mag, the airline said, "The assertion in question is not accurate." Delta claimed that incorporating Delta Sync with Starlink would have been permitted under SpaceX's in-flight Wi-Fi agreement. It further stated that it wants to deepen work with "a global leader that shares our ambition to build what's next." Replying to this, Musk wrote on X: "They will lose passengers over this."
Why Delta Chose Amazon's Project Kuiper
As quoted by X user Sawyer Meritt, Delta Airlines explained its choice: "This agreement gives us the 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." The airline is reportedly targeting 2028 to start offering Project Kuiper in-flight Wi-Fi on about half of its fleet.
Elon Musk's Reaction
Responding to an X post claiming "Delta rejected adopting SpaceX's @Starlink on its fleet because it wanted to provide internet connectivity to passengers via the Delta Sync portal, instead of the Starlink-branded portal," Musk said that SpaceX mandates an effortless, no-portal Wi-Fi experience equivalent to home use, making Delta's approach customer-unfriendly and likely to lag competitors installing Starlink now. He wrote: "Not exactly. SpaceX requires that there be no annoying 'portal' to use Starlink. Starlink Wi-Fi 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."
