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JetBlue ( JBLU ) to add LEO Wi-Fi to 25% of fleet by 2027

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New York-based company to explore combining LEO and GEO

satellite technologies

By Doyinsola Oladipo

NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) -

JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) said on Thursday it will partner

with Amazon ( AMZN ) subsidiary Project Kuiper, a low Earth

orbit satellite broadband internet network, to improve its

onboard Wi-Fi starting in 2027.

U.S. air carriers, seeking ways to win over consumers, are

broadly investing in onboard Wi-Fi. JetBlue ( JBLU ), Kuiper's first

airline partner, is betting that the partnership will help them

stay ahead of competitors.

"We do have a lot of our competitors trying to jump on the

bandwagon," JetBlue ( JBLU ) President Marty St. George told reporters.

Amazon ( AMZN ) has identified technology that will "absolutely keep us

ahead" as the new service is expected to be more reliable with

faster performance and fewer delays, he noted.

JetBlue ( JBLU ) said it was the first and still only major U.S. airline

to offer free Wi-Fi in its entire fleet.

Kuiper plans to deploy over 3,200 satellites in the Earth's low

orbit, a $10 billion effort unveiled in 2019, to beam broadband

internet globally for consumers, businesses and governments.

Kuiper launched its first production satellites in April

2025 and has deployed more than 100 satellites to date. It is

expected to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink, a unit of SpaceX,

which has signed deals with Hawaiian Airlines and United

Airlines for in-flight internet services.

JetBlue ( JBLU ) uses geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite

technology to power its onboard Wi-Fi and will explore a

multi-orbit solution in the future combining both the low Earth

orbit (LEO) and GEO networks, the carrier said.

LEO systems, used in the region of space surrounding Earth

at altitudes of 1,200 miles (2,000 km) or less, cost less than

geosynchronous satellites, which travel much further out in the

same direction as Earth's rotation, said St. George.

(Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)