Delta Air Lines is testing Elon Musk's satellite business Starlink (STARL-USD), to offer quality Internet connection on its flights, Delta CEO Ed Bastian tells The Wall Street Journal. Starlink parent company SpaceX (SPACEXDOGE-USD) declined comment.

Customer demand for reliable, high-speed WiFi, regarless of a plane's altitude, has been increasing over the years and is projected to serve as many as 20,000 aircraft by 2030, according to satellite consultancy Euroconsult.

"A lot of airlines want to offer streaming-quality services" that do not require heavy, expensive antennas to be installed on their planes, Dave Bijur, SVP for commercial aviation at Intelsat SA, a Starlink competitor, tells WSJ.

Bastian has previously gone on record saying how important fast and reliable Internet is for high-end airlines. The CEO has also said Delta wants to be known as a premium airline offering high-quality Internet service for its passengers.

At a satellite conference last month, Starlink Sales VP Jonathan Hofeller said that Starlink believes the time is right for airlines to revisit in-flight Internet services because customer expectations have "changed faster than the technology."

Hofeller said Starlink currently has 250,000 subscribers, including retail consumers and business enterprise clients.

A few years ago, SpaceX projected Starlink would have more than 40 million subscribers by 2025. SpaceX has submitted an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to send an additional 30,000 Starlink satellites into space in the next few years, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is concerned about space congestion. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration must certify Internet equipment on commercial aircraft, an FAA spokesperson tells WSJ.

A recent FCC filing shows that the government has granted SpaceX permission to test Starlink for aircraft.

Even if Starlink develops Internet technology that is superior to its competitors, it would take SpaceX several years to replace years-long contracts with other Wi-Fi providers, J. Armand Musey of satellite consultancy Summit Ridge Group tells WSJ.

It would take Musk's SpaceX a number of years, at minimum, "to get significant market share," Musey says.

Visat, another inflight Internet service provider that serves 300 Delta Air Lines aircraft, said in February it is constructing three high-capacity satellites that would significantly improve its commercial airline service. Visat charges passengers $5 a flight for its Wi-Fi service.