Delta Air Lines has been in the news of late over its decision to opt for Amazon over Starlink when it came to installing the next generation of inflight WiFi technology across its fleet. The move saw Elon Musk, the controversial and outspoken CEO of the SpaceX company that is behind Starlink, take to social media to criticize the Atlanta-based US ‘big three’ legacy carrier and SkyTeam member for choosing to go in a different direction.

Now, however, the Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines has pushed back against Musk’s criticism, saying that the Amazon offering that the carrier opted for offered a cheaper and more technologically advanced and rounded package than what was available from Starlink. Let’s take a look at the debate.

Amazon Brings More To The Table

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In recent years, inflight WiFi has come on leaps and bounds, with such offerings being faster and cheaper than ever before in an era when more and more passengers don’t just want to stay online while traveling: they need to. This boom has been epitomized by the growth of SpaceX, a Starlink company offering high-speed WiFi to airlines under the provision that they make it free to use for all of their passengers. Still, it’s not for everyone.

Indeed, while SpaceX and Starlink have grown accustomed to carriers saying ‘yes’ to their attractive offering, it was recently dealt a major blow in the form of a high-profile rejection from US giant Delta Air Lines. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took the news badly, and, as Stock Twits notes, took to X to rant at Delta for its rejection, saying that the carrier would “lose passengers over this.” However, Delta CEO Ed Bastian has now told Bloomberg that:

“Amazon brings a lot more than just satellite technology. They bring great retailing capability and Amazon Prime and video gaming technologies, which Starlink does not have.”

Delta’s Amazon Installations Will Begin In 2028

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Given the size of Delta’s fleet, the installation of high-speed inflight WiFi was always going to be an expensive job, regardless of the provider. With this in mind, the carrier has spent a lot of time weighing up its options. Indeed, it even tested Starlink back in 2022, having expressed its interest in SpaceX’s satellite technology.

However, for the reasons detailed above by Delta CEO Ed Bastian, the carrier ultimately opted for Amazon’s offering. Known as the Project Kuiper LEO satellite network, this represents a significantly smaller constellation than that of SpaceX, with just 300 satellites in low-Earth orbit compared to 10,000 for Starlink.

In any case, the SkyTeam founding member has stuck by its guns, despite being one of only two US carriers to have opted for the Amazon offering (alongside New York-based hybrid carrier JetBlue). Delta now plans to begin installing Amazon’s high-speed WiFi in 2028, and it will hope that it made the right choice.

Delta Isn’t The Only Carrier To Have Snubbed Starlink

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Delta’s snub is not the first time that Starlink has had to come to terms with a major (and public) rejection from one of the world’s largest airlines this year. Indeed, back in January of 2026, European low-cost giant Ryanair ruled out opting for the technology (it has since been followed on this course by UK rival easyJet), with Ryanair Group CEO Michael O’Leary saying that the subsequent weight and drag penalties were too much of a burden.

With neither O’Leary nor Musk being the kind of men who like to take no for an answer, and SpaceX refuting the former’s points with its own data, the spat between the pair soon became a public online verbal mud-slinging match, with each calling the other an ‘idiot’ on social media. Musk took things up a notch by threatening to buy Ryanair and replace O’Leary as Group CEO, although, perhaps unsurprisingly, this proved to be a hollow threat.