The shares of Amazon (AMZN) climbed by more than 2% during pre-market trading on Thursday morning after the e-commerce giant announced low-cost airline operator JetBlue (JBLU) as the first partner for its new satellite internet service. The stock also jumped by over 3% at the start of regular U.S. trading hours.
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper is a low-Earth-orbit satellite service that seeks to serve a wide range of customers, including residential households, schools, hospitals, as well as planes and ships. The venture will also target underserved areas in remote regions and islands.
Under the new deal, JetBlue will offer Amazon’s satellite technology on select aircraft starting from 2027. The arrangement expands on JetBlue’s free high-speed Wi-Fi service introduced in 2013.
The deal also highlights the growing demand for in-flight Wi-Fi in recent years, as airplane customers seek to use streaming, social media, and cloud platforms to enrich their onboard experience. This has been shown to drive customer patronage.
Amazon Ramps Up Project Kuiper
The news about the partnership with JetBlue comes several days after Amazon sought to go live in Vietnam to challenge billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX space technology firm. SpaceX has also gotten approval from the Vietnamese government to run a similar scheme.
The deal also follows Amazon’s recent collaboration with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus (AIR) to integrate its satellite connectivity into the designer’s aircraft catalog. This arrangement covers the inclusion of Kuiper’s in-flight connectivity solution into both existing and newly-made Airbus aircraft.
Amazon launched its first 27 Kuiper satellites into space in late April in partnership with United Launch Alliance, a launch service provider part-owned by Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT). However, the American multinational has now expanded the number of satellites and aims to have over 100 in orbit.
Will Amazon’s Stock Reach $300?
Turning to Wall Street, Amazon’s stock holds a Strong Buy consensus recommendation on TipRanks. This is based on 44 Buys and one Hold rating from analysts.
Furthermore, TipRanks’ A.I. Analyst is also bullish on the retail giant’s stock, giving a score of 81 out of 100. Meanwhile, the average AMZN price target is $264.13, suggesting a possible 13.11% increase from its current price.
