United Airlines’ in-flight Wi-Fi is getting a major upgrade on its jets, thanks to SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. After teasing “something big” for the skies, United said it will begin testing Starlink’s fast Wi-Fi service in early 2025, with the first passenger flights expected next year.
United is installing Starlink Wi-Fi on all of its aircraft, more than 1,000 planes, over the next few years and the service will be free for passengers. “Everything you can do on the ground, you can soon do onboard a United plane at 35,000 feet, almost anywhere in the world,” said United CEO Scott Kirby.
One Mile at a Time reports that United currently has four different Wi-Fi providers, with regional jets using Intelsat (formerly Gogo) and most wide-body jets using Panasonic Wi – Fi. United also uses Viasat Wi-Fi on most of its 737 MAX aircraft, some A319s, and A321neos. Viasat is the best of the bunch in terms of speed, and is also commonly found on American and Delta flights.
The announcement is a major one for travelers, as onboard Wi-Fi is often unreliable and slow these days. The Wall Street Journal recently showed how Starlink and others will change that, achieving speeds of more than 100Mbps over a shared Starlink connection with latency of less than 100ms in a real-world flight. That allows for uninterrupted Netflix streams, and even the ability to join video conference calls. Starlink says it can offer speeds of up to 220Mbps per plane.
Starlink’s high-speed service is currently only available on JSX or Hawaiian in the US, so the expansion to United will no doubt put pressure on rivals to improve their in-flight Wi-Fi. A number of international airlines have also announced plans to install Starlink Wi-Fi in recent months, with WestJet planning to use Starlink onboard some of its aircraft starting in December and the Qatar Airways plans to introduce free Starlink Wi-Fi on three of its Boeing 777-300 aircraft later this year. Air New Zealand aims to roll out Starlink to its domestic fleet by 2025.
News of United’s Starlink deal comes the same week that Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, said she wants to see more competition to SpaceX’s Starlink. Elon Musk’s Starlink has launched about 7,000 satellites into orbit since 2018, with SpaceX controlling “about two-thirds of the satellites in space today,” according to Rosenworcel. “Our economy does not benefit from monopolies. So we need to invite many more space actors, many more companies that can build constellations and innovations in space.”
T-Mobile also announced this week that it successfully tested an emergency alert via a Starlink satellite. In 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a partnership that would let people text, call, and use their T-Mobile phones via the Starlink satellite. AT&T and Verizon also produce similar satellite-to-smartphone services, with Apple and Google offering satellite services for their latest smartphones.
