American Airlines in talks with Starlink, Amazon for Wi-Fi upgrade, weighs return of seatback screens

An seatback on an American Airlines Boeing 737.

Leslie Josephs/CNBC

Bringing screens back to American Airlines‘ narrow-body planes is under “serious consideration” and a decision could be made as early as next month, according to a person familiar with the matter.

It would be part of a major revamp of American’s in-flight entertainment and Wi-Fi for narrow-body aircraft, said the person, who was not authorized to talk about the plans publicly.

Part of those plans include discussions with SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon Leo to potentially become an in-flight Wi-Fi provider, according to the person.

American is also talking with Amazon about providing content for the seats, which could include Amazon Prime, music and potentially shopping, where customers could use miles for purchases, the person said.

The airline currently has a deal with Apple for customers to stream music and Apple TV+ content.

The changes come as pressure is mounting on American from rivals like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, which account for most of the U.S. airline industry’s profits, and as airlines have been increasingly relying on customers willing to pay up for premium seating.

Those two carriers have invested for years in improving customer products with technology like new in-flight entertainment and other perks.

Meanwhile, American decided to remove seat-back screens from its mainline narrow-body aircraft almost a decade ago to save money on the equipment cost and weight they add to the aircraft. Executives at the time said customers would likely use their own mobile phones, tablets or laptop to stream entertainment.

In recent years, however, rivals have been investing heavily in new cabins and more modern entertainment. American, itself, is adding more premium seats to both its narrow-body and wide-body planes, which already have screens on them.

In an interview last fall, American’s chief customer officer, Heather Garboden, told CNBC that the airline was warming to the idea of bringing screens back.

“I think of where the technology was a decade ago, and where it can be today, or even a few years from today,” Garboden said at the time. “Hopefully the complexity is less.”

Amazon and SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX has made inroads among airlines to provide in-flight Wi-Fi, gaining customers including United, Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways.

United, Delta, Southwest Airlines and American in recent years have followed JetBlue Airways‘ move to offer Wi-Fi for free. Generally, customers must be members of the airline’s loyalty program to receive the complimentary Wi-Fi.