United Airlines to Launch Starlink Wi-Fi on Flights This Spring

• United Airlines will soon start the rollout of Starlink Wi-Fi from Elon Musk onboard their two-cabin regional fleet by December 2025 to offer services on Embraer E-175 planes. The Embraer E-175 tests will begin in February.
• Additionally, the airlines will also give free Starlink Wi-Fi to the United MileagePlus members for streaming, shopping, and gaming under an agreement signed in September.
• Thus with the tie-up with Starlink, United joins the league of airlines like Hawaiian Airlines, JSX, and Delta that offer a high-speed internet service in the air.

According to plans, United Airlines is going to start using Elon Musk’s Starlink Wi-Fi services within its flights which makes the tech billionaire unprecedentedly influential. The airline intends to equip its two-cabin regional fleet by the end of 2025.

This partnership is enough to bring the airlines, such as Hawaiian Airlines, JSX, and Delta Airlines, one step closer to a better-in-flight experience for their sky-high guests. Here, Starlink takes on the role as the internet-in-the-sky solution right away.

Starlink Wi-Fi is to be tested on United Embraer E-175 planes in February, which will be the first commercial flight offering this service. The airline plans to equip its two-cabin regional fleet and its first mainline Starlink-enabled aircraft by the end of the year.

Soon, Starlink will be a standard feature across all United Airlines flights.

Elon Musk, the visionary behind companies like Tesla and SpaceX (Starlink’s parent company), has used his extensive portfolio and immense wealth to make his mark far beyond the tech sector. The partnership with United Airlines is yet another example of how his businesses are influencing industries across the U.S. economy.

United MileagePlus members will get free access to Starlink, including streaming, shopping, gaming, and more. The airline and Starlink finalised the deal in September.

United is joining a growing list of airlines offering high-speed internet. Hawaiian Airlines made Starlink available for free to passengers on Airbus flights between Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, Asia, and Oceania. JSX, the semi-private charter company, also provides free Starlink Wi-Fi on its fleet of 46 planes.

In early 2023, Delta Air Lines introduced free Wi-Fi for its SkyMiles members, joining JetBlue Airways, which has provided free Wi-Fi on flights since 2017.

Boeing introduced in-flight internet through its Connexion service in 2003, but the company discontinued it in 2006 due to the market’s lack of expected growth.