Delta CEO stands by his decision to choose Amazon over Elon Musk’s Starlink for one main reason

• Delta Air Lines’ CEO revealed why he chose Amazon Leo over Elon Musk’s Starlink.
• He praised its access to gaming technologies — and a “much lower price point.”
• His comments came days after Musk questioned the airline’s strategy.

Last Wednesday, Musk replied to an X post that suggested Delta chose Amazon because it wanted customers to connect via its own Delta Sync portal.

“SpaceX requires that there be no annoying ‘portal’ to use Starlink,” Musk posted. “Starlink WiFi must just work effortlessly every time, as though you were at home.”

“Delta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for their customers. Hard to see how that is a winning strategy,” he added.

A Delta spokesperson told Business Insider that “the assertion in question is not accurate.” The airline said it chose Amazon’s Leo connectivity service over Starlink for “several reasons,” including the potential for a “broader partnership” beyond just in-flight WiFi.

Bastian’s comments to Bloomberg suggest that the partnership includes in-flight entertainment, with access to Amazon Prime and “gaming technologies.”

Plus, he said Amazon is offering its services at a much lower price than Starlink.

“Of course, we expect Starlink will be warning people that we’re going to go with an inferior product,” Bastian told Bloomberg. “But I’m not too worried about partnering with Amazon.”

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.