Ed Bastian, Delta CEO, has justified his decision to sign a connectivity partnership with Amazon Leo over SpaceX’s more established Starlink service.
The move attracted the ire of tech mogul Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO. In response to an X comment about Delta choosing Amazon, Musk sniffed:
Delta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for their customers. Hard to see how that is a winning strategy [sic]
In an interview with Bloomberg, Bastian argues that the Amazon Leo deal was less expensive than Starlink, while offering additional benefits beyond high-speed customer WiFi. He said:
I think the opportunities, in terms of the improved bandwidth with a much lower price point than what we’ve ever seen from Starlink, will make a big difference.
The CEO also highlighted that the full stable of Amazon products provide Delta with unique opportunities for retail and entertainment integration.
This isn’t the first time Musk has publicly warned an airline against partnerships with Amazon Leo. He also took to X in late 2025 amid rumours that American Airlines were about to strike a deal with his rival, posting:
Only fly on airlines with good connectivity… and only one source of good connectivity at the moment…
At the moment, the Amazon Leo network significantly trails SpaceX. Its constellation of 200 low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites is dwarfed by the 10,000 circling in Starlink’s name. Yet Amazon have 20 launches planned in the next year alone, and as Bastian points out the corporation’s extensive capabilities could make them a more advantageous partner for airlines in the long run.
Currently, JetBlue are the only other carrier to sign with Amazon Leo, while Starlink’s more substantial list of clients includes Emirates, IAG, and United Airlines. But with other LEO competitors in the wings, including Eutelsat’s OneWeb, while Starlink dominate for now the high-speed inflight connectivity race is only just beginning.
Join us at Aviation Festival Americas 2026 to discuss the future of inflight of connectivity.
For more like this, see:
