United Airlines began testing Starlink on its flights in February and announced plans to eventually add SpaceX’s satellite internet service to all of its aircraft. The company first announced its partnership with SpaceX in September 2024 to “establish a new standard for in-flight connectivity.”
Following the test, United Airlines expects its first commercial flight with Starlink to take place in the spring on a United Embraer E-175. The rest of the company’s “two-cabin regional fleet” will be equipped with Starlink throughout 2025, and United says it will “fly its first mainline Starlink aircraft” by the end of the year.
Starlink is free to all members of United’s MileagePlus program. In addition to improving the quality of its in-flight Wi-Fi, United Airlines also sees Starlink as an opportunity to “unlock new partnerships” for its members. Don’t be surprised if United Airlines strikes a new deal with a streaming service to offer more free content during flights.
United Airlines, along with Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines, will partner with Starlink for in-flight Wi-Fi. SpaceX initially announced its intention to offer 350Mbps internet speeds on its planes in 2022, and both Delta Air Lines and Haiyan Airlines have pledged to test Starlink or offer it on their own planes. did.
Starlink has made some serious expansions in the last year. SpaceX was able to test T-Mobile and Starlink’s cell-direct satellite service when Hurricane Milton made landfall in the U.S., and is planning a large-scale beta test of the service in February, with a nationwide scale satellite text message service launched.
