US carrier, United says it has “set a new standard of inflight connectivity by signing the industry’s largest agreement of its kind with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s fast, reliable Wi-Fi service to the airline’s mainline and regional aircraft fleet, for free.”
The airline says it “customers will soon enjoy the same high-speed, low-latency internet service in the air that they enjoy on the ground”, asserting that the “new, gate-to-gate connectivity will unlock game-changing experiences in the sky at scale that no other major U.S. 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.
United says it will be the first carrier in the world to commit to offering Starlink service at this scale. Starlink, engineered by SpaceX, “delivers internet access around the world, including over oceans, polar regions and other remote locations previously unreachable by traditional cell or Wi-Fi signals.
United CEO Scott Kirby says: “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.” Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX said: “With Starlink onboard your United flight, you’ll have access to the world’s most advanced high-speed internet from gate to gate, and all the miles in between.”
United’s new Starlink Wi-Fi service will offer capabilities for live streaming, workplace productivity, games and e-commerce, amongst others. The service will be available to United’s customers and frontline employees including “United pilots, flight attendants, technicians and gate agents all use mobile devices to help run the operation and serve customers. As United rolls out the Starlink more broadly, it will give those teams the same rich capabilities in the air, as they have on the ground including when working in remote location or when traditional services might be impacted like during power outages or natural disasters.”