United hails new Starlink installation milestone

It has installed Starlink on more than 300 aircraft over the last 10 months at a rate of about one a day.

So far, the airline says it has flown more than seven million passengers on Starlink-equipped aircraft on more than 129,000 flights.

As of today, more than 25% of United’s daily departures – 1,200 flights – now have Starlink Wi-Fi.

Moving forward, the airline expects to equip more than 500 mainline aircraft with Starlink Wi-Fi by the end of this year.

This would bring the total number of Starlink-equipped planes across its fleet to more than 800.

To celebrate the milestone, United is airing a new broadcast film during the Big Game on February 8.

The film will highlight how Starlink has redefined the onboard Wi-Fi experience, United says.

The takes inspiration from space travel, as customers onboard watch live sports, play online games, check in on their home security cameras and more.

“That’s one giant leap for inflight Wi-Fi,” the voiceover states.

“With this spot we wanted to recognize the truly giant leap Starlink Wi-Fi represents for our customers and what is now possible,” 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.

United’s VP of Digital Technology, Grant Milstead added: “We’re rolling out Starlink at an unprecedented speed and scale, and our milestone for our regional fleet is just the beginning.”

This year, United plans to accelerate the Starlink roll out to its mainline feet, including the Boeing 737-900ER, the Airbus 321 family and Boeing 777s.