Using Elon Musk’s Starlink to bring the internet at high speed to United Airlines passengers as soon as this Spring is now an important landmark in the great expansion of Musk’s influence beyond the tech world.
United Airlines has announced that it will start testing satellite-driven Wi-Fi service offered by Starlink this February. The first flight to provide the service for customers will be held on United’s Embraer E-175 regional jets this Spring. The airline plans to equip its entire regional fleet with Starlink technology by the end of 2025 and expects to have its first mainline aircraft featuring Starlink’s Wi-Fi onboard by the end of the year.
The deal can be considered as a boost to the increasing presence of Starlink in the commercial airline industry, with the aim being to provide high-speed internet on every single United flight, no matter the destination or size of the aircraft.
Musk, who oversees a wide-ranging portfolio of companies, from the electric car maker Tesla to the aerospace company SpaceX, which owns Starlink, among many others is using his immense wealth and power to affect multiple industries. By pitching United Airlines, he has once again proven that his enterprises have transcended the limits of the technology industry, and now they cover virtually everything ranging from space exploration, deliveries, and now air travel as well.
As a part of the agreement, all United MileagePlus members will be able to enjoy free access to Starlink’s internet service, which will also have entertainment options like streaming, gaming, shopping, and so on. The partnership between the two companies was completed in September and it marks a major milestone in United’s push to offer cutting-edge technology to its passengers.
United Airlines is far from the only carrier to embrace the high-speed internet revolution. By September, Hawaiian Airlines announced that it would provide free access to the Starlink Wi-Fi to passengers who are on board their Airbus-operated routes, which include travel between Hawaii, the continental United States, Asia, and Oceania. At the same time, JSX, a semi-private charter airline, has also equipped its fleet of 46 aircrafts with free Starlink Wi-Fi, further expanding the service’s availability across the U.S. aviation market.
Other major airlines are also entering the race with high-speed internet providers. Last year, Delta Air Lines announced that it would provide free Wi-Fi services to members of the SkyMiles loyalty program. This was just another indicator of the growing demand for in-flight internet access. Meanwhile, JetBlue Airways has been offering free Wi-Fi services to air travelers since 2017, years ahead of most rivals.
The beginning of in-flight internet services came in 2003 when Boeing launched Connexion, a satellite-based service for aircraft. Nevertheless, Connexion was discontinued in 2006 due to the fact that it had not been able to meet the expectations of the market, which demonstrated the difficulties of the high-speed internet integration with the aviation industry. Moving ahead almost two decades, Starlink has so far realized the idea and provided passengers with a faster and more reliable Wi-Fi than ever before.
The deal with Starlink is a strategy for United Airlines to improve the in-flight experience for travelers as well as to upgrade its services to a digital level. With the increasing importance of in-flight connectivity for business travelers, entertainment, and social media access, the airline sees offering Starlink as a big differentiator in a competitive marketplace.
Elon Musk’s Starlink is quickly becoming the top pick for high-altitude satellite internet, not just in the sky, but also for areas that are underserved on the ground. The invention is run by a network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that team up to deliver higher internet speeds and lower latency than the conventional satellite networks. The progress of Starlink reveals Musk’s capability to utilize his several companies to address huge challenges in the areas of technology and infrastructure.
As the spring launch approaches, many are eager to see how the Starlink-powered internet will perform on United Airlines flights. Due to its commitment to the provision of high-speed, dependable connectivity, the service is projected to completely revolutionize the in-flight internet sector, and provide everything from high-quality video streaming to fast, lag-free browsing.
United’s collaboration with Starlink marks only the starting point of the company’s very ambitious project to make sky cloud computing available. With other carriers like Delta and JetBlue already giving passengers free Wi-Fi access, it is obvious that the race to offer superior connectivity to the airline industry’s customers is underway.
