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I’ve written a good amount about United adding Starlink’s high-speed Wi-Fi across its entire fleet. Last month, United became the first airline to receive FAA certification for its mainline aircraft and tomorrow the first equipped flight takes off. At 8:00 AM EST, flight UA 2940 will depart from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and head to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). This will mark the first time a major US airline has equipped a mainline aircraft with SpaceX’ Starlink Wi-Fi for use across both personal devices and inflight entertainment screens.
This milestone flight aboard a Boeing 737-800 represents a major leap forward in inflight connectivity and offers passengers a high-speed, low-latency internet experience comparable to what they enjoy at home. More than 170 travelers onboard the inaugural flight will be able to stream live TV, play games, shop online, collaborate on work, and connect multiple devices simultaneously (all without interruption). I cannot wait to test this out in the future.
United plans to install Starlink on up to 15 Boeing 737-800s per month (with two antennas mounted on each aircraft). The airline expects to certify an additional aircraft type for Starlink service before the end of the year and accelerate its rollout across the mainline fleet. The initiative is symbolically linked to tomorrow’s historic flight number (UA 2940), which represents the approximately 2,940 antennas that will ultimately be installed fleetwide.
Currently, more than half of United’s regional fleet is already equipped with Starlink (following the successful debut of the service on regional jets in May 2025). Customer feedback from those flights has been overwhelmingly positive, with 90% of passengers praising the reliability and streaming quality of Starlink’s high-speed connection.
After its historic debut, the Starlink-equipped Boeing 737-800 will continue service on October 15th, operating a flight between Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) (UA 365) before returning to Houston UA 445.
For United MileagePlus® members, Starlink Wi-Fi will be available free of charge, and customers will be notified ahead of time if their flight is equipped with the new system. The Starlink connection unlocks a range of onboard digital experiences, including:
- Live streaming sports and entertainment in real time without buffering.
- Real-time collaboration, enabling cloud file sharing and video conferencing.
- Online gaming and participation in live streams while in flight.
- E-commerce and reservations, allowing passengers to shop or book services midair.
- Multi-device connectivity, enabling simultaneous access across seatback screens, phones, tablets, and laptops.
United’s Starlink rollout is part of its broader plan to deliver an industry-leading inflight experience. The airline is on track to feature more than 300,000 seatback screens across its fleet (the most of any US carrier) as it continues to take delivery of new aircraft and retrofit existing ones. This initiative reflects billions of dollars in customer experience investments made in recent years, aimed at elevating comfort, convenience, and connectivity for travelers. With Starlink now entering the mainline operation, United is positioning itself as a leader in next-generation inflight technology, redefining what passengers can expect from Wi-Fi at 30,000 feet.
Anthony’s Take: This is huge news for United flyers and bumps United to the head of the pack among US airlines. With Starlink the days of wondering if the Wi-Fi will work are over.
(Image Credits: United Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
