More than a year after Delta became the first of the big four U.S. airlines to offer free Wi-Fi onboard, United is preparing to do the same by partnering with internet provider Starlink.
United unveiled its brand-new partnership with Starlink on Friday, the linchpin for eventually rolling out fast-and-free internet across its entire fleet – both mainline and regional jets, too. United said testing for that new service will begin in early 2025, with the first free Wi-Fi service expected to be available sometime “later next year.”
Again: United's Starlink Wi-Fi service will be free to all passengers. That said, it will likely take many years to outfit all 1,000-plus planes in United's fleet with Starlink service.
Starlink, a subsidiary of Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX, helps connect some of the most remote spots on earth, including over oceans and the polar regions. That makes it a perfect match for United's global network. And travelers who have used Starlink service on other airlines swear it's the fastest in the skies.
“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,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement.
It solves a glaring weakness for United, whose inflight Wi-Fi offerings have been widely panned as some of the worst in the industry, with slow speeds and spotty connectivity. United says its Starlink service will be speedy enough for activities like live streaming or gaming and will even allow each travelers to connect multiple devices at once.
Improving inflight Wi-Fi has been a major goal for airlines across the globe in the post-pandemic travel boom. Nowadays, travelers expect high-speed internet everywhere they go – including a metal tube 38,000 feet in the sky.
United isn't the first airline to pair up with Starlink in pursuit of that goal.
Hawaiian Airlines began offering free inflight Starlink service on select transpacific flights earlier this year. Pseudo-private airline JSX has outfitted its entire fleet with Starlink technology. And Qatar Airways is planning to change its entire fleet over to Starlink service, too.
It's just another instance where United has used a buzzy partnership and new amenities to bolster its position as a premium U.S. airline. Still, United will be two-plus years behind its primary competitor, Delta Air Lines, in the race to provide free Wi-Fi onboard.
After years of testing, Delta began rolling out free Viasat Wi-Fi for SkyMiles members across its mainline, domestic flights in early 2023. Earlier this year, Delta expanded that same free Wi-Fi to select international flights, too, with the airline now saying its entire international network will be ready for free Wi-Fi by mid-to-late 2025 – about the same time United may begin its first, official free Wi-Fi flights.
Neither of them are the first in the U.S. to offer free Wi-Fi, though. JetBlue set that marker down more than 10 years ago, way back in 2013.
Bottom Line
United Airlines says it will begin adding free Starlink Wi-Fi to all of its planes early next year. It may take many years, but the airline will eventually add high-speed (and free) connectivity to the 1,000-plus planes in its fleet.