In less than a year, United has equipped most of its two-cabin regional fleet – more than 300 aircraft – with Starlink, the fastest, most reliable high-speed Wi-Fi in the sky*.
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. The airline expects to equip more than 500 mainline aircraft with Starlink Wi-Fi by the end of 2026, bringing the total number of Starlink-equipped planes across its fleet to more than 800.
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.”
“We are focused on what we call ‘travel truths’ in our advertising, so with this spot we wanted to recognize the truly giant leap Starlink Wi-Fi represents for our customers and what is now possible. Starlink is transforming the inflight experience on United planes with reliable connectivity that enables everything from productivity to streaming the biggest football game of the season,” said Maggie Schmerin, United’s Chief Advertising Officer.
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. For example, 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 travellers 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.
For more information, visit united.com/starlink.