Bloomberg: Finnair in talks with Elon Musk’s company about new internet connections

Finnair has been in talks with SpaceX and Amazon about providing in-flight Wi-Fi on its planes, according to news agency Bloomberg.

Finnair CEO Turkka Kuusisto told Bloomberg at the annual meeting of the airline industry association IATA in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday that the company plans to make a decision on a service provider this year.

However, it is still too early to say when the decision will be announced.

Several airlines, such as Emirates, Lufthansa and United Airlines, have chosen the services of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink system. American company Delta Air Lines has chosen SpaceX’s competitor Amazon Leo.

Kuusisto told Bloomberg that demand for Finnair flights from Europe to Asia is “quite strong.” According to Kuusisto, Finnair has benefited from passengers choosing the company’s services due to the war in the Middle East.

Demand in the United States, on the other hand, has remained steady.

According to Kuusisto, Finnair’s fuel reserves are sufficient for the summer season, but if the war with Iran drags on, the risks related to fuel availability will increase.