United Airlines signed what it calls the largest agreement of its kind with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s fast, reliable WiFi service to the carrier’s mainline and regional aircraft for free. According to the announcement, United customers will soon enjoy the same high-speed, low-latency internet service in the air that they enjoy on the ground.
The new, gate-to-gate connectivity, according to the announcement, will unlock “game-changing” experiences in the sky at scale that no other major US airline provides, like access to live TV and streaming services, social media, shopping, gaming and more, on seatback screens and personal devices simultaneously.
United expects to have Starlink on all United aircraft — more than 1,000 planes — over the next several years. Testing begins in early 2025, with the first passenger flights expected later that year.
Scott Kirby, United CEO, said that “everything you can do on the ground, you’ll soon be able to do onboard a United plane at 35,000 feet, just about anywhere in the world.” This connectivity, he said, “opens the door for an even better inflight entertainment experience, in every seatback — more content, that’s more personalized.”
In addition to using Starlink connectivity on personal devices, United customers also will have access on their seatback screens. United has nearly 100,000 seatback screens across its fleet, with plans to grow these numbers as the airline continues to take delivery of new airplanes and retrofit existing aircraft.
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