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United has signed a deal to offer Starlink internet across all of its aircraft, with testing commencing in early 2025.
The first passenger flights with Starlink will depart later next year. The airline plans to provide Starlink connectivity on all its aircraft—more than 1,000—over the “next several years,” but it didn’t give a specific date.
Starlink’s reliable high-speed internet will benefit United’s frontline employees during power cuts or while working in remote locations. It will also allow customers to:
- Watch live TV, shows, and movies on personal streaming services.
- Play live games or live gameplay streams on Twitch or YouTube.
- Shop online, organize grocery deliveries, or make travel or restaurant reservations.
- Connect multiple devices simultaneously, including enjoying content on personal devices and their seatback screen.
- Be more productive, for example, sending emails or downloading or uploading files.
The United app will be available for customer support with inflight content in over 20 languages.
United has almost 100,000 seatback screens across its fleet, including 16-inch HD touch screens in United Polaris business class seats, 13-inch in First Class seats, and 10-inch in Economy. Each seat also offers power, Bluetooth, LED lighting, and larger overhead bins.
Scott Kirby, United CEO, said that Starlink would enable passengers to do everything they could on the ground onboard one of the company’s planes and that the connectivity “opens the door for an even better inflight entertainment experience.”
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President and COO, said that Starlink would provide “access to the world’s most advanced high-speed internet from gate to gate, and all the miles in between.”
Satellite internet on aircraft may be nothing new, but it could be revolutionary if Starlink can provide fast, low-latency connectivity when everyone onboard is using the service.
