KLM is getting Starlink. The Dutch airline announced on Wednesday that it has chosen Starlink, the satellite internet service from Elon Musk's SpaceX, to connect its fleet. Starting in mid-2027, KLM's Starlink Wi-Fi will be free on its intercontinental flights, according to Airways Magazine.
That's a big change for anyone who flies KLM across an ocean. It also puts KLM on track to match Air France, its sister airline, which has spent the past year installing Starlink on its own planes.
KLM · Wi-Fi
KLM Is Getting Starlink
Starlink at Europe's big airlines
KLM already offers free Wi-Fi on many flights within Europe through a different provider, Viasat.
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What's Changing
Starlink works differently from most airplane Wi-Fi. Older systems rely on satellites parked very far above the Earth, which is a big reason airplane internet has a reputation for being slow and patchy. Starlink uses thousands of satellites in much lower orbits, so it's fast enough to stream video, join a video call or work the way you would on the ground.
On KLM's long flights today, getting online usually means buying a Wi-Fi pass. The airline already made Wi-Fi free on many of its flights within Europe in January, using a different provider called Viasat. This new announcement is about the long flights, where fast Wi-Fi that costs nothing changes the most about how the hours go.
Some details aren't public yet, including whether passengers will need to join Flying Blue to get it free and how quickly each plane will be fitted. Flying Blue is the loyalty program KLM shares with Air France, and it costs nothing to join. We'll update this story as KLM shares more.
Catching Up With Air France
Air France began installing Starlink in 2025, and by June 2026 about 60% of its fleet had it. The airline expects to finish by the end of this year, and the Wi-Fi is free for Flying Blue members.
That's left KLM in an awkward spot. The two airlines share an owner, a loyalty program and plenty of passengers who switch between them on the same trip. Yet someone flying to New York from Paris on Air France can often stream a show the whole way, while a passenger leaving Amsterdam on KLM can't count on the same. Once KLM's planes are fitted, that gap should finally close.
Starlink is one of the main reasons Air France is my favorite business class in Europe. Having Wi-Fi that actually works on a nine-hour flight turns dead time into time you can use, whether that's for work or catching up with people at home.
Is KLM Ahead of Europe's Other Airlines?
Not quite. Starlink has spread fast across Europe over the past year. British Airways ran its first Starlink flight in March, Virgin Atlantic started in May and Iberia followed in June. Latvia's airBaltic got there even earlier with Starlink across its whole Airbus A220 fleet. The Lufthansa Group plans to put it on about 850 planes by 2029, across airlines including SWISS, Austrian and Brussels Airlines.
With a start date of mid-2027, KLM is one of the later big European airlines to sign on. Where it can still stand out is in how generous the offer turns out to be. If the Wi-Fi ends up free for everyone on board, KLM would have one of the better deals in Europe despite arriving late.
What It Means for Travelers
If you're flying KLM on a long trip before mid-2027, expect the same Wi-Fi it offers today. After that, it's worth checking which plane you're booked on, because new Wi-Fi almost always reaches some aircraft before others. Until then, Air France is the easier bet within the same airline family if fast, free Wi-Fi across the Atlantic matters to you.
