United Airlines is adding free Starlink wifi to its planes over the coming years. They’ve updated the install timeline. Based on experience with Hawaiian Airlines and JSX, it should be faster – and with far less latency – than competitors’ wifi.
The airline now expects to begin testing Starlink next month with the first commercial flight anticipated to take off this spring on a United Embraer E-175 aircraft. United now plans to outfit its entire two-cabin regional fleet by the end of this year and have its first mainline Starlink-enabled plane in the air before the end of this year.
Ultimately, United will add Starlink to its entire fleet.
For years I’ve avoided flying United Airlines whenever possible knowing that the inflight wifi would be so bad that the hours on board would be completely devoid of productivity.
With retrofits of United interiors, including seat back entertainment screen and bluetooth connectivity for headphones, new bigger overhead bins, and touches like new LED lighting and refreshed lavatories it was expected that all planes would get ViaSat wifi which had been the gold standard in the industry and a mainstay of many American and Delta aircraft.
I’ve seen reports of 200 Mbps download speeds and uploads much faster as well. United could quickly go from industry laggard on wifi to the top of the charts. And while my United wifi experiences have been better than they were 5 years ago, though not quite consistently good enough, this could be a game changer for inflight productivity moving them completely from do not fly into preferred carrier territory.
United’s announcements previously suggested that the first install in passenger service would be the late 2025 mainline, but moving regional jet service up earlier is fantastic.
It will take time for United’s fleet to see the new fast, free inflight internet. 1,000 aircraft is a lot to deploy, even taking just a single overnight per airframe to install (and not wanting to limit schedules in the meantime taking planes out of service). But it’s a future we can now look forward to. Once fully deployed this will put United ahead of Delta and JetBlue (which offer reasonably fast, free wifi today) and ahead of American (which offers reasonably fast wifi, priced more expensively than any other U.S. carrier).
Oh, Starlink! You know who ‘owns’ that, right? Praise Daddy Musk for his unlimited, eternal wisdom! We must bow down to our new galactic overlord, who surely is not compromised by his own egotism, narcissism, fellow oligarchs, or foreign adversaries. It was all worth it… for free WiFi on United. So much ‘efficiency’ incoming!!
Why oh why are they starting with regional jets?
This cannot happen soon enough IMO.
I agree, Hawaiian’s Starlink is super fast and consistent on transoceanic flights (AS, please don’t screw that up). It is really a big change for the better.
Based on my multiple AA flights last week, AA’s wifi generally stinks, and on my UA December flights, their WiFi service was consistently “spotty” at best.
I remember when air travel was the one place you had an excuse to be disconnected from the world for a bit.
If people are that worried about “inflight productivity”, might I suggest staying home and working via Zoom instead?
Hate on Elon Musk all you want, but one of this companies (that yes, he had the idea for and he started) is providing cable/fiber level internet to every single square foot of the entire planet for under $100/month.
If you understand why he did it, it was to create revenue for Neuralink and SpaceX until they’re profitable.
He’s a dumpster fire of a person, but there is nothing else like it around and the credit goes to him.
Resume hating in 3…2..1…
Daniel,
according to some sources, the product that UA will put on its regional jets is repackaged and improved ground based GoGo internet so it very likely will not be gate to gate and may or may not be as high speed as other solutions.
Other airlines including AA are going to use a similar solution on their regional jets.
In contrast, DL is going to use Hughes satellite internet on its regional jets and 717s and that should be a high speed, gate to gate solution.
@Daniel: The regional jets have the current worst WiFi option, ground-based GoGo.
Hopefully next they do the Thales jets that fly over water… United Thales seems.onky licensed for continental US so sucks when you get a 737 from IAH to MCO or anywhere Latin America.
The Panasonic and Viasat planes work well enough for getting work done, and you can even stream on the Gen2 Viasat.
@Tim: Did ya read the article?
All United aircraft will get Starlink, starting with replacing the GoGo planes first.
Christopher,
and if you read what I said, the Starlink RJ solution is reportedly a ground-based repackaged version of the Gogo system which has been used on other aircraft for quite some time.
Given that Starlink on mainline aircraft does exist now, there is some reason why UA is able to do regional jets first and it is very likely the explanation that the repackaged Gogo will be the “guts” behind the Starlink system for RJs .
I do not have the details but that explanation makes more sense than that the regional jets and mainline aircraft will get the same Starlink solution – otherwise there is no reason why UA could be turning it on for regional jets long before the first revenue flight for mainline.
Starlink went onto JSX E-145s before Hawaiian A330s. Performance is amazing.
Timbits, we don’t care. DL could offer me free wi-fi, unlimited Biscoff, and armed security and motorized transport through ATL, and I’d still prefer the Edward II treatment to flying them. And while we’re on the subject of wi-fi, when I flew SFO-BNE last year on UA, my FREE wi-fi (T-mo customer for 20 years) was continuously available at a useful speed from gate to gate. Can DL say that? No. We all know DL has no wi-fi coverage over the Pacific.
Gary,
we get it.
Starlink has a great product.
But for some reason, UA is rolling out Starlink on large RJs before mainline. Other airlines do offer Starlink on some of the same aircraft types that UA operates so it is very likely that UA is using a different product for their large RJs than for mainline.
There are multiple types of in-flight Wifi; Gogo was bought by Intelsat which was itself acquired.
I’m not even sure that JSX uses the same product as HA. HA’s product has to be satellite based. JSX doesn’t have to use a satellite product if their planes stay over the continental US.
Most RJs and DL’s 717s will stay over the continental US but DL is using a 100% satellite solution while Intelsat offers an upgraded Gogo ground-based WiFi solution that works only over the continental US.
ORD,
we get it. UA has not and currently does not have gate to gate high speed WiFi for all of its OWN customers. T-Mobile is a great plan for travelers and WiFi is part of what you get – but DAL offers free high speed WiFi to all of its own customer – dependent on Viasat or Hughes’ installations and service availability – and UA will do the same, all under the Viasat name, even though some aircraft will not have satellite WiFi.
Do us all a favor and refrain from telling us how evil DL is just because yet another subject arises where DL MIGHT have a better solution – gate to gate at the least – for its entire fleet when it is all finished while many other airlines including UA appear to be going for a mixed GTG/satellite solution depending on aircraft type. Ground based WiFi cannot be GTG unless something has significantly changed.
I do not know the details of the specific product and kit UA is using but it seems beside the point. My understanding is the JSX use case is Starlink satellites. Regardless, it kicks butt over any other inflight wifi solution currenrly in operation outside of Hawaiian’s. This is highly suggestive that United’s will as well. We’ll see soon enough is the point of this post!
To Gary’s point, tim
If you even googled or researched the slightest thing about starlink and regional product, you’d see satellite domes on top of e135s. Satellites on top of aircraft usually don’t pair well with a ground based solution.
Starlink already has satellite solutions for the CRJ product (in the works) and ERJ working today.
Try a simple google search before your usual 15 paragraphs of nothing.
Max,
if YOU could read and do a little googling yourself you would know that there are multiple WiFi providers and multiple types of WiFi systems.
Intelsat acquired Gogo’s system and offers a number of satellite and ground based systems.
Gary,
the type of system does matter because it not only explains the type of service that UA will offer on its regional jets and also will explain why UA is accelerating deployment of WiFi on its regional jets but not on mainline.
It makes ZERO sense that Starlink is offering UA the same satellite product on its large RJs as on its mainline fleet but that UA is choosing to deploy the product first on regional jets.
UA said when this was all announced that mainline first revenue flights would happen late this year and that has not changed.
is MAX going to tell us that Starlink doesn’t have solutions for the A320 family or a host of Boeing models but has it for the E jets and CRJ families?
feel free to explain why UA is accelerating deployment of WiFi to regional jets but not mainline esp. since multiple other airlines have already signed deals for the same mainline aircraft types that UA operates. UA doesn’t even operate any of its own regional jets under a subsidiary unlike AA or DL which makes it even less likely that they have some inside track.
It’s like you truly can’t read. Who said only starlink exists on aircraft? There are many wifi systems.
This article is about Starlink and United and how United plans a satellite-based starlink system on their regionals.
We all know you hate admitting when you’re wrong but how low do you want to stoop to avoid admitting you’re wrong?
Starlink already has a regional jet satellite-based system flying on the ERJ and they already have the work done for the CRJ family.
Put the drinks down. You make it far too easy to tell when your Sunday brunch went too long. You don’t even make any sense.
Yes. Starlink has an airbus A320 system online. Hawaiian flies it already. Yes Starlink has a satellite system IN PLACE for the ERJ and CRJ family.
Move along and stop looking dumb.
again, it’s not a complicated question. but you prove once again that you would rather argue than address the question that was raised.
yes, I know what HA has.
Tell us why UA is rushing installation on their RJs but can’t get it installed on aircraft types on which Starlink already has service w/ other airlines.
I suspected all along that UA is using a different product on its RJs than what it will put on its mainline aircraft. and, if it is a different product, then it will have different features. It really isn’t hard to figure out.
All you need to do is provide evidence of that – or not – and then explain why UA can advance the product on its large RJs but not on mainline aircraft.
you prove that you are incapable of having a civil discussion and are yourself hitting the bottle.
You once again start new questions that were never asked.
First you were CONVINCED that any United Starlink regional system would have to be ground based. It’s not.
Now you’re trying to twist your own lack of knowledge into a separate supply chain issue topic that was only raised in an attempt to hide your own ignorance about Starlink. Gary already addressed the limited timeline information given about mainline. It’s an article, not a full disclosure statement to the SEC. Calm down.
Move along when you’re wrong. You were babbling to gary about JSX having a ground based starlink system when a simple google search would show satellite terminals on the top of jsx jets.
And thanks for confirming your inebriated status. It’s no surprise. Your coherency drops below where it normally even is. But that’s a low bar already.
as usual, you twist, manipulate and accuse because you can’t answer the simple question of why UA is moving up its regional jet installation but not its mainline. Makes ZERO SENSE if it is the same product and Starlink already has their products certified on other mainline aircraft types that UA flies.
I didn’t say that JSX used a GTG system. I said they COULD.
If UA will have a different product on its regional jets than on mainline then what Gary has seen on JSX MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT
All you need to do is answer that question. The rest of your answer simply is an attempt the fact that you have no answers while wanting to paint yourself as an expert and lash out at anyone that dares challenge your perceived supremacy
Only you have any idea the question you’re trying to answer, Tim. Screaming and caps about nothing doesn’t help anyone else parse the haziness of your mind.
The rest of us are talking about the satellite-based regional product coming on United