United Airlines announced that it has signed a deal with Elon Musk's Starlink to provide efficient, free internet service to its entire fleet.
The Chicago-based airline is banking on fast service to give it an edge over rivals in the increasingly competitive airline industry.
The internet service will be a free perk for passengers, piggybacking on airlines such as Delta Air Lines, which launched free in-flight Wi-Fi in 2023 through a partnership with T-Mobile.
Passengers across United's more than 1,000 aircraft will be able to access live TV, streaming services and use multiple devices simultaneously, just like they would at home.
“Anything we can do on the ground, we can do on a United plane at 35,000 feet, almost anywhere in the world,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement.
“This connectivity will enable an even better in-flight entertainment experience at every seat, with more content and more personalization.”
Details of the financial agreement between United Airlines and SpaceX's Starlink were not disclosed.
United Airlines, which has a market capitalization of $16.7 billion, said it will begin testing its Starlink service early next year.
The airline said the first passenger flights with the service are scheduled to launch in late 2025.
The company says Starlink's internet service will be more reliable than ever, especially over seas and in unstable regions.
As passengers increasingly use the internet, internet service has become almost a requirement for airlines, but internet outages and disruptions are common, frustrating travelers.
The United Airlines deal is not Starlink's first foray into in-flight internet service.
The airline has partnerships with Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways, but United will be its largest partner to date and will test how well the satellite provider can operate at scale.
United Airlines chief customer officer Linda Jojo told The Wall Street Journal that Starlink could help the airline meet demand surges.
“We know you can have multiple devices per passenger, and this will work,” she said, “and it will work in a revolutionary way, as if you were in your living room at home.”
Any internet equipment on United Airlines planes must be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Starlink operates a constellation of more than 6,300 satellites that SpaceX began launching in 2019.
SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynnie Shotwell said in a statement that Starlink will provide “the most advanced high-speed internet in the world” on United Airlines flights.
Starlink has proven to be a profitable business for SpaceX, which recorded revenue of $1.4 billion in 2022, according to The Wall Street Journal.
