The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified United Airlines’ first mainline Starlink-equipped aircraft, and the initial commercial flight flew on Oct. 15 from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The certification comes less than five months after the first Starlink-equipped United Airlines customer flight on the Embraer 175 regional aircraft and less than a year since United Airlines signed the industry’s largest agreement of its kind with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s fast, reliable Wi-Fi service free to United Airlines MileagePlus members on the airline’s mainline and regional aircraft fleet.
United’s first Starlink-equipped regional flight took place on a regional jet in May, and the airline now has Starlink installed on more than half of the aircraft in its regional fleet. Initial customer scores on those flights have been noteworthy, with 90% of customers appreciating the ability to stream onboard with Starlink’s high-speed, easy-to-use, and consistent connection.
“Customers are loving the Starlink experience onboard our regional aircraft, and our first Starlink-equipped mainline aircraft will bring a superior inflight experience to even more people,” says Grant Milstead, United Airlines vice president of digital technology in a prepared statement. “We’re working to install Starlink and offer game-changing in-flight entertainment experiences like streaming services, shopping, gaming, and more.”
The Starlink system, when compared to non-Starlink satellite internet equipment, allows for a faster and simpler installation because it is lighter, requires less fuel usage by the aircraft, and is more reliable and weather-proofed.
Starlink is free for all MileagePlus customers and includes Wi-Fi speeds up to 250 megabits per second (Mbps). Membership to the MileagePlus program also is free.
