United Airlines first launched high speed Starlink service starting on the fleet of regional United Express Embraer 175s. Since then, they’ve been outfitting 40+ regional aircraft per month, aiming to cover its entire two-cabin regional fleet with Starlink by end of 2025.

United’s mainline fleet is now getting the same treatment, with service being introduced on one of their Boeing 737-800s. On Wednesday, N77525 re-entered service after undergoing maintenance work, operating New York (EWR) to Houston (IAH), and later scheduled to continue onto Fort Lauderdale (FLL) before returning to Houston.

The carrier plans to install two Starlink units on each 737-800 in an effort to deliver high speed downloads, promising the ability to watch livestreams, connect multiple devices, collaborate in real time for work related content, and much more.

They are currently on track to outfit 15 Boeing 737-800s with Starlink units per month, and by the end of the year, they will start installations on another fleet type, eventually covering both its entire mainline and regional fleet within the next few years.

“We’re committed to raising the bar when it comes to the onboard experience, and with Starlink, we’re changing how people fly,” said David Kinzelman, United’s Chief Customer Officer. “Whether it’s catching a live game, streaming an award show or working, United customers won’t miss a beat when they’re onboard a Starlink-equipped flight.”

As always, customers wanting to access Starlink need to sign up for a free MileagePlus (frequent flyer) account. Even though the service is free for passengers to use, it does come at the cost of viewing a 15 second ad. Guess we know now who’s really paying for the service.

united airlines starlink wifi
Credit: United Airlines

At least eight carriers globally have started the switch to Starlink, with six more scheduled to launch the product in the near future. However, we may see a battle in the low earth orbit satellite (LEO) space as Amazon’s Project Kuiper is quickly being built out.

Similar to Starlink, Project Kuiper will also operate a mesh network of LEO satellites, hoping to cut away a slice of the satellite broadband business. Besides government and aerospace contracts, JetBlue has signed on to be their first passenger airline customer, aiming to offer free high-speed Wi-Fi some time in 2027.