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Join us in learning how to use miles & points to travel & save money!
Hello and welcome to Smart With Points, the podcast where we dive into the world of travelling with miles and points. I'm your host, Jack, and today we're going to talk about something that's really got me excited - Qatar Airways' new Starlink Wi-Fi service. As someone who's always on the go and likes to stay productive during long flights, finding reliable airplane Wi-Fi has been a challenge, but I'm happy to say that this new service is a game-changer. I recently had the chance to test it out, and I was blown away by the speed and stability of the connection. I clocked an impressive 190 Mbps download speed while cruising at 35,000 feet over the Bay of Bengal. To put that into perspective, that's faster than many home broadband connections. The latency was also surprisingly low at just 37ms unloaded, making video calls and real-time collaboration tools actually usable. What really impressed me was the stability of the connection. Unlike traditional in-flight Wi-Fi that often drops out or becomes painfully slow, the Starlink service remained consistently fast throughout the flight. I managed to get some coding done, respond to emails, and even push some updates to GitHub without any frustrating disconnections or lag. And the best part? Qatar Airways currently offers this service completely free for all passengers, even in economy. This is a refreshing departure from the often expensive Wi-Fi packages we see on other airlines. While they haven't confirmed if this will remain free forever, it's certainly a compelling reason to choose Qatar Airways for long-haul flights if you need to stay connected. So, how does it work? Qatar Airways has partnered with SpaceX's Starlink to provide satellite internet connectivity through their low Earth orbit satellite network. The technology is clearly visible on their aircraft with the distinctive Oneworld livery featuring the Starlink logo. If you're planning to work during your flight, I'd recommend using our Flight Seatmap tool to select the best seat for productivity. Some business class seats offer more privacy than others, and it's worth checking before you fly. We'd love to hear about your experience with Starlink Wi-Fi on Qatar Airways. Have you tried it out yet? Let us know in the comments section on our website. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Smart With Points. If you want to stay up-to-date with the latest news and tips on travelling with miles and points, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on all major platforms or visit our website at smartwithpoints.co.uk. We'll catch you in the next episode.