Qatar Airways Completes Starlink Rollout on Boeing 777 Fleet
The airline now operates the largest number of widebody aircraft equipped with Starlink connectivity, making it the only carrier in the Middle East and North Africa to offer the service.
Initially set as a two-year initiative, the installation was finalised in nine months, nearly 50% faster than planned.
The process was streamlined by reducing retrofit time from three days to 9.5 hours per aircraft, allowing the programme to be completed without operational disruption.
'This new milestone demonstrates our strategic investment in redefining our passengers' expectations,'
said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.
'We promised the fastest, most seamless in-flight connectivity in the industry, and with Starlink we have delivered it faster and at an unmatched scale. Having completed our rollout programme for Boeing 777s, we are now fully focused on equipping our Airbus A350 fleet with Starlink, bringing this game-changing experience to even more routes across our global network of over 170 destinations.'
Passengers travelling in both Premium and Economy cabins now have access to free, gate-to-gate internet with speeds of up to 500 Mbps per aircraft.
The connectivity is designed to support streaming, gaming, and work, with performance comparable to home broadband.
Following the completion of the Boeing 777 rollout, Qatar Airways is progressing with the Starlink installation on its Airbus A350 fleet, targeting completion within the next year.
Since introducing its first Starlink-equipped Boeing 777 in October 2024, the airline has operated more than 15,000 flights with Starlink connectivity.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TECHx
2 days ago
- TECHx
Starlink Outage Hits Thousands After Software Failure
Home » Latest news » Starlink Outage Hits Thousands After Software Failure SpaceX's Starlink suffered a major outage on Thursday, affecting tens of thousands of users globally. The Starlink outage was caused by an internal software failure, according to the company. Users across the U.S. and Europe reported connectivity issues around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), as per Downdetector, which recorded up to 61,000 user reports. Starlink, which serves over 6 million users in nearly 140 countries and territories, acknowledged the problem on its official X account. The company announced that it was actively working on a solution. Service was mostly restored after 2.5 hours, Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink Engineering, revealed on X. 'The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network,' Nicolls wrote, apologizing for the disruption and confirming efforts to find the root cause. Elon Musk also apologized, stating, 'Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again.' Experts commented on the incident, noting the unusual scale of the Starlink outage. Doug Madory, an analyst at internet monitoring firm Kentik, reported that the outage was global. 'This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider,' he said. The outage has sparked discussions about possible causes, including a software glitch, a failed update, or even a cyberattack. Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity lab at Cornell University, speculated, 'I'd guess this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike issue with Windows last year, or a cyberattack.' Key details include: SpaceX launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020 to build its low-Earth orbit network. The company is partnering with T-Mobile to provide direct-to-cell text messaging services in rural areas. Starlink's growing user base has pushed SpaceX to focus on enhancing network speed and bandwidth. The company's Starshield unit, which handles military satellite services, holds significant contracts with the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. It remains unclear if these services were affected by the Starlink outage. The incident is being compared to a 2024 CrowdStrike cybersecurity software update that caused worldwide flight cancellations and disrupted 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. Source: Reuters
Zawya
3 days ago
- Zawya
Elon Musk's Starlink network suffers rare global outage
SpaceX's Starlink suffered one of its biggest international outages on Thursday when an internal software failure knocked tens of thousands of users offline, a rare disruption for Elon Musk's powerful satellite internet system. Users in the U.S. and Europe began experiencing the outage at around 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT), according to Downdetector, a crowdsourced outage tracker that said as many as 61,000 user reports to the site were made. Starlink, which has more than 6 million users across roughly 140 countries and territories, later acknowledged the outage on its X account and said "we are actively implementing a solution." Starlink service mostly resumed after 2.5 hours, Michael Nicolls, Starlink vice president of Starlink Engineering, wrote on X. "The outage was due to failure of key internal software services that operate the core network," Nicolls said, apologizing for the disruption and vowing to find its root cause. Musk had also apologized: "Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy root cause to ensure it doesn't happen again," the SpaceX CEO wrote on X. The outage was a rare hiccup for SpaceX's most commercially sensitive business that had experts speculating whether the service, known for its resilience and rapid growth, was beset by a glitch, a botched software update or even a cyberattack. Doug Madory, an expert at the internet analysis firm Kentik, said the outage was global and that such a sweeping interruption was unusual. "This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink, at least while it became a major service provider," Madory said. As Starlink gained more users, SpaceX has focused heavily in recent months on updating its network to accommodate demands for higher speed and bandwidth. The company in a partnership with T-Mobile is also expanding the constellation with larger, more powerful satellites to offer direct-to-cell text messaging services, a line of business in which mobile phone users can send emergency text messages through the network in rural areas. SpaceX has launched more than 8,000 Starlink satellites since 2020, building a uniquely distributed network in low-Earth orbit that has attracted intense demand from militaries, transportation industries and consumers in rural areas with poor access to traditional, fiber-based internet. "I'd speculate this is a bad software update, not entirely dissimilar to the CrowdStrike mess with Windows last year, or a cyberattack," said Gregory Falco, director of a space and cybersecurity laboratory at Cornell University. An update to CrowdStrike's widely used cybersecurity software led to worldwide flight cancellations and impacted industries around the globe in July last year. The outage disrupted internet services, affecting 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices. It was unclear whether Thursday's outage affected SpaceX's other satellite-based services that rely on the Starlink network. Starshield, the company's military satellite business unit, has billions of dollars' worth of contracts with the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City, and Raphael Satter and Joey Roulette in Washington; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Matthew Lewis)
Zawya
3 days ago
- Zawya
Emirates introduces retrofitted Boeing 777 to Madrid
Emirates has announced it will deploy its newly refurbished Boeing 777 aircraft to/from Madrid starting from September 16. Customers can look forward to an enhanced travel experience with upgraded interiors and premium signature travel touches across all cabins. Madrid is Emirates' first destination in Spain to operate with the airline's next-generation interiors. Emirates' four-class Boeing 777 will operate as flight EK143/EK144. Emirates flight EK143 will depart Dubai at 14:30hrs and arrive in Madrid at 20:20hrs local time. The return flight, EK144 will depart Madrid at 22:05hrs and arrive in Dubai at 7:10hrs local time, the following day. The deployment of Emirates' retrofitted Boeing 777 to Madrid marks a new era of premium travel to the Spanish city - offering customers the airline's award-winning Premium Economy service, newly configured Business Class cabin, and a 'better' travel experience to/from the country. Emirates' newest Boeing 777 cabin interiors include: A refurbished First-Class cabin with upgraded interiors. New Business Class cabin that provides more privacy and comfort for customers with fully lie-flat seats in an updated 1-2-1 seating configuration. Latest Premium Economy cabin which combines accessible luxury with comfort; offering cream leather seats, increased legroom, adjustable headrests, deeper seat recline and raised cushioned leg rests. Spacious Economy Class seats with new design elements. Copyright 2024 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
