United Airlines announces accelerated rollout of free Starlink Wi-Fi

In September, United surprised the industry by announcing plans to provide free fleetwide Starlink Wi-Fi. "We have a lot planned for our MileagePlus members this year and adding Starlink to as many planes as we can — as quickly as we can — is at the center of it all," said Richard Nunn, CEO of United MileagePlus. "It's not only going to revolutionize the experience of flying United, but it's also going to unlock tons of new partnerships and benefits for our members that otherwise wouldn't be possible."

United's decision comes after years of providing inconsistent inflight connectivity through partnerships with four different Wi-Fi providers. The first provider being replaced by Starlink is Wi-Fi Onboard (formerly known as Gogo), which offers slow air-to-ground connectivity on the regional fleet.

Starlink, part of Elon Musk's SpaceX, offers satellite internet access in over 100 countries. It provides download speeds up to 350 Mbps per second, enabling activities like gaming and streaming without allowing inflight calls due to Federal Aviation Administration rules.

Currently, Delta Air Lines and JetBlue offer free Wi-Fi within the U.S., using Viasat for internet access. However, Starlink's low latency could result in even faster data loading speeds compared to Viasat.

Besides United Airlines, seven other carriers worldwide are either already using or planning to use Starlink: JSX, Hawaiian Airlines, airBaltic, Zipair, Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand.