Emirates has announced a major change to its A380 aircraft. The installation of three Starlink antennas on each will improve the Wi-Fi available onboard a thousand-fold, the airline said, offering "better than at home" connectivity for customers while flying at 40,000 feet. The first A380 equipped with Starlink returned to Dubai this month, after installation and certification were completed in Newquay.

With more scheduled for accelerated installation throughout 2026, Emirates customers will "soon enjoy a transformative leap in onboard connectivity with the ability to stream, game, browse, and work throughout their journey on personal devices", Emirates said.

The service will be complimentary for all customers, across all cabins, with "easy sign up and access". In addition, live TV streaming over Starlink will be available in the future, initially on personal devices, and later integrated into seatback screens.

Emirates said the industry-first Starlink configuration is designed to "meet the demands" of the A380's double-decker layout and high passenger capacity, and is capable of delivering more than two gigabits per second of total aircraft bandwidth across the cabin.

The airline said: "Compared with the Emirates Boeing 777, the Emirates A380 features additional wireless access points and a third antenna to deliver an enhanced connectivity experience for its higher passenger capacity. Optimised interdeck integration supports a seamless WiFi experience, with customers able to enjoy high speeds depending on usage and device capability."

Starlink installations will soon begin at engineering facilities in Dubai to accelerate deployment across the fleet. Emirates added that it is "committed to bringing the best possible connectivity to its entire fleet at the earliest opportunity", with 25 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft already equipped with Starlink and the first A380 now joining service.

So far, more than 650,000 Emirates customers have already flown on Starlinkequipped flights.

The airline said: "The introduction of Starlink on the A380 builds on Emirates' ongoing investment into redefining the customer journey, including one of the most ambitious retrofit programmes in aviation history."

To date, 93 Emirates aircraft have been "fully refurbished", including the installation of premium economy cabins, an upgraded business class, "refreshed" first class suites, improved interiors and finishes in economy class and "throughout all aspects of the cabin", as well as "expanded and upgraded" inflight systems that can offer more than 6,500 channels of entertainment.