The full list of airlines that plan to offer WiFi using Elon Musk's Starlink
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
- United Airlines will roll out free Starlink WiFi on regional aircraft this spring.
- Its entire fleet of 1,000 Boeing and Airbus planes will eventually get the upgrade too.
- More than half a dozen carriers worldwide have inked deals for Starlink WiFi.
United Airlines is one step closer to bringing free WiFi to its planes.
The Chicago-based carrier announced plans in January to test Elon Musk's high-speed Starlink internet on an Embraer 175 regional jet in February.
By year-end, United's entire two-cabin regional fleet, meaning its smaller planes with first and economy class, will get the upgrade. Its first mainline aircraft will also take off by the end of 2025, with the entire fleet getting the upgrade at some point.
Members of United's MileagePlus loyalty program will be able to access Starlink for free, including for browsing and streaming.
Members currently pay $8 for internet on domestic and short-haul international flights, while non-members by $10. International WiFi pricing depends on destination and flight length.
United's new free internet access will join Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways, both of which already provide complimentary WiFi through other providers like ViaSat and Gogo
American Airlines has free ad-sponsored internet on certain narrow-body planes, but it's limited to 20 or 30 minutes.
Starlink is growing its list of airline customers
Starlink, an arm of SpaceX, provides WiFi via low-orbit satellites. Its reliability is particularly useful in remote areas and on cruise ships, and its popularity has grown on commercial airplanes.
Viasat, by comparison, has only a few satellites and is slower by comparison.
In 2022, semi-private air carrier JSX was the first company to ink a deal for Starlink. The company has since deployed the service on its entire fleet of Embraer jets.
Hawaiian Airlines, now merged with Alaska Airlines, has retrofitted its Airbus A330 and A321neo planes with free Starlink and has plans to add its Boeing 787s, too.
Alaska has since acquired Hawaiian's Starlink-equipped jets. Starting this year, it plans to fly the widebody Airbus aircraft from Seattle to Japan and South Korea.
AirBaltic, Air France, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways, and Japan's Zipair have also selected Starlink for their fleets.
Pete Syme/Business Insider
Qatar rolled out free Starlink on its first Boeing 777 in October. It plans to install the service on the entire 777 fleet by the end of 2025 and start the upgrades on its Airbus A350s this summer.
Business Insider tested Qatar's new WiFi at 36,000 feet and found a download speed of up to 215 megabits per second, though it dipped over certain areas.
The service could easily manage high-speed streaming and video calling with little to no buffering.