Delta Snubbed Elon Musk's Starlink — And Now He's Fighting Back

Credit: Delta Air Lines, Simple Flying Published Aug 20, 2026, 9:11 AM EDT A graduate in German, Jake has a passion for history and regional aviation, and enjoys sampling new carriers and aircraft. He has visited OEM facilities as far and wide as Bristol, Toulouse, and Seattle, and recently enjoyed the milestone of flying his 150th sector as a passenger. Based in Norfolk, UK. Sign in to your Simple Flying account Opinionated entrepreneur Elon Musk has taken aim at Delta Air Lines amid claims that passengers are avoiding the Atlanta-based US 'big three' legacy carrier and SkyTeam member due to its lack of Starlink WiFi. Never one to mince his words when it comes to online flame wars (such as his public spat with Ryanair Group CEO Michael O'Leary), Musk even said that things will "get much worse" for Delta. It isn't that Delta does not offer its passengers the option to connect to onboard WiFi. While not a necessity for everyone, a total lack of connectivity would surely see any legacy carrier left in the dust by its rivals. However, Delta's decision to choose Amazon over Starlink, an arm of Musk's SpaceX firm, rubbed the businessman the wrong way, and he is now taking glee in seeing flyers vote with their feet. Musk Claims The Situation Will "Get Much Worse" Credit: Delta Air Lines Over time, WiFi has become a more important part of the airline passenger experience. While planes used to be a refuge from the online world and a welcome chance to disconnect for a few hours, changing passenger needs have seen WiFi become as much a part of modern flying as food and drink. Now Starlink boss Elon Musk is claiming that flyers are specifically avoiding Delta over its lack of Starlink. Yesterday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO took to X to allege that he "warned them" about flyers voting with their feet, adding that "it will get much worse." It is worth noting that Musk's post was a quote of an image that featured just two Delta flyers claiming to have booked with United instead due to the WiFi situation. As such, it remains to be seen if there is any widespread substance to Musk's bold online claims. Simple Flying has reached out to Delta Air Lines for comment on Musk's latest statements. We will update our coverage upon receiving a response from the carrier. Delta & Starlink: The Story So Far Credit: Shutterstock According to reporting on the matter by Business Insider, Musk previously claimed that Delta would lose customers over its decision to select Amazon Leo over Starlink for its WiFi provision this year. However, the publication noted that Delta CEO Ed Bastian backed his airline's position shortly thereafter, citing Amazon Leo's "great retailing capability and Amazon Prime and video gaming technologies." In truth, the discourse between Delta Air Lines and Starlink stretches back considerably further. Indeed, as early as April 2022, Simple Flying reported that the carrier was testing the SpaceX-backed WiFi solution, having held preliminary talks with the company. At the time, its existing WiFi was being provided by Viasat. However, just over four years later, the news broke that it had chosen Amazon Leo instead. A key motivation behind this choice was the ability for the carrier to prioritize its own brand and integrate the Delta Sync portal into the WiFi offering. These branding issues were ultimately what caused Delta's talks with Starlink to collapse. However, the decision has not been met with universal acclaim: Simple Flying recently reported that an ex-Delta pilot had taken to X to ask the airline to reconsider the move. More & More Airlines Are Choosing Starlink Credit: Delta Air Lines While Musk himself is seen by many to be a somewhat divisive character, the commercial aviation sector's response to Starlink has been more universally positive. This has been evidenced by the growing number of carriers that have equipped their aircraft with the fast and free WiFi solution in order to improve their connectivity. Qatar Airways was among the first, launching the solution back in October 2024. Since then, various airlines from all over the world have followed suit. For instance, yesterday saw Lufthansa launch Starlink on an Airbus A320neo, with the wider Lufthansa Group looking to fit 850 jets with the product by 2029. Iberia's Starlink connectivity also came in handy last week when Spain found itself at the center of the recent total solar eclipse, as it used the WiFi to stream the event from a plane.