In less than a year, United has equipped most of its two-cabin regional fleet – more than 300 aircraft – with Starlink. The airline expects to equip more than 500 mainline aircraft with Starlink Wi-Fi by the end of this year, bringing the total number of Starlink-equipped planes across its fleet to over 800.
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Over the last 10 months, the airline has flown more than 7 million passengers on Starlink-equipped aircraft across more than 129,000 flights, powering 3.7 million devices – and Wi-Fi customer satisfaction scores on those airplanes nearly doubled during that time.
Today, more than 25% of United’s daily departures – 1,200 flights – have Starlink Wi-Fi.
United is marking this milestone during the Big Game on February 8 with a new broadcast film that brings to life how Starlink redefines the onboard Wi-Fi experience. The creative draws inspiration from space travel, as customers onboard a United flight watch live sports, play online games, check in on their home security cameras and more – all things that historically haven’t been possible with traditional inflight satellite Wi-Fi. The voiceover, which has a tone that mimics a conversation between ground control and the cockpit, underscores the transformation: “It’s Wi-Fi that actually works? That’s one giant leap for inflight Wi-Fi.”
The ad will air in local markets including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis and Kansas City – all cities where United’s Starlink-equipped regional aircraft fly. And in many of these cities, more than half of United flights operating there have Starlink Wi-Fi onboard. In Indianapolis, more than 63% of United flights are equipped with Starlink, in Kansas City it’s more than 53% and in Cincinnati it’s more than 51%.
United’s customer satisfaction scores for inflight Wi-Fi have nearly doubled on aircraft equipped with Starlink, with travelers specifically calling out benefits like gate-to-gate connectivity, reliable service and onboard streaming.
This year, United plans to accelerate the Starlink roll out to its mainline feet, adding seamless, gate-to-gate connectivity to hundreds more planes. In collaboration with Starlink, the airline will seek FAA approval for installation and safe, reliable operation of the new system on more than a dozen different aircraft models, including the Boeing 737-900ER, the Airbus 321 family and Boeing 777s.