Singapore Airlines to get Starlink for Auckland and Christchurch travellers; Latam gets a jet fuel hangover
Singapore Airlines is rolling out Starlink. And Latam is taking a big hit on jet fuel prices, despite some successes. Composite photo / Christchurch Airport, Brett Phibbs
The days of getting forced offline anywhere may be rapidly fading. Soon, even being 35,000 feet up in the sky won’t keep you from fast internet, social media, ChatGPT and streaming.
Singapore Airlines customers flying on Airbus jets from Auckland and Christchurch will start getting Starlink Wi-Fi early next year.
The airline said it would roll out Starlink’s low Earth orbit satellite‑based broadband service on its Airbus A350-900 and on the giant double-decker A380.
The airline said Starlink had more than 10,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, and could deliver fast internet through its Aero Terminal antennae attached to aircraft.
It said customers in all cabin classes would get faster, smoother connectivity for activities such as video streaming, sharing content, gaming and sending large files.
The airline said all customers on the A350 long-haul and ultra-long-range fleet and those on A380s would get high-speed internet.
Premium economy and economy travellers will have to enter their KrisFlyer membership details at the point of booking or at check-in.
Non-members would be able to sign up for free membership online or on board to access the Wi-Fi, Singapore Airlines said.
Progressive rollout starts in the first quarter of 2027, but completion is not expected until the end of 2029.
Singapore Airlines has a strategic partnership with Air New Zealand and the carriers operate 21 weekly services between Auckland and Singapore.
Usually, one-third of those are on A350-900s and the rest are on Air New Zealand’s Boeing 777-300ERs.
All seven Singapore-Christchurch services are on A350s.
But in the southern summer, Singapore Airlines sometimes uses the A380 quadjet on New Zealand flights.
On the main deck, that aircraft has 44 premium economy seats and 343 in economy.
Its upper deck has 78 business-class seats and six suites.
The rest of Singapore’s fleet includes its own 777s, the 787-10 Dreamliner, and the narrowbody 737-8.
Latam cuts earnings forecast in jet fuel turmoil
Chile’s Latam, which flies from Auckland to South America, has cut forecast earnings as jet fuel prices gobble up airline money.
Latam’s share price on the Santiago Stock Exchange has fallen from about 29 Chilean pesos in early February to about 21 today.
Latin America’s biggest airline group released its first-quarter results overnight, saying capacity was up 10.4% on the same time last year.
The company said its international services and Brazilian domestic operations were performing well.
But citing market volatility, it replaced its 2026 full-year guidance.
Latam expected additional fuel expenses exceeding US$700 million ($1.19b) in this year’s second quarter.
It said it was responding with measures including targeted capacity adjustments and “additional cost control initiatives”.
It now expected an adjusted ebitda of between US$3.8 billion and US$4.2b for the year. Reuters said the previous forecast was US$4.2b to US$4.6b.
Latam’s new projections assumed jet fuel costing US$170 per barrel for the second and third quarters and US$150 per barrel for the fourth quarter.
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) jet fuel price monitor said the global average price was US$181.22 in the last week of April.
That was 101.3% more than a year earlier.
John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation. He previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.
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