United Airlines will deploy Starlink Wi-Fi on its first mainline jet next month
United Airlines' smallest planes soon won't be the only jets that have its brand-new, fast and free Starlink Wi-Fi.
For months, the Chicago-based carrier has been installing the high-caliber connectivity on its fleet of United Express regional jets.
But in the coming weeks, customers will start seeing the Starlink service on its bigger planes, too.
United just secured Federal Aviation Administration approval to deploy the satellite internet service on its Boeing 737-800 fleet, the airline said Friday.
And the carrier expects to launch Starlink service on its first mainline flight Oct. 15 from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
That will be just the beginning.
United's plans call for outfitting its entire fleet with the new, faster internet service — which will be accessible at no cost to all of its MileagePlus members.
"Customers are loving the Starlink experience onboard our regional aircraft, and our first Starlink-equipped mainline aircraft will bring a superior inflight experience to even more people," Grant Milstead, the carrier's vice president of digital technology, said in a statement.
Related: How to get maximum value from the United MileagePlus program
Halfway done with United Express installations
There was also good news about United's Starlink rollout on its smaller jets. The carrier on Friday said it had finished installing the tech on more than half of its regional fleet.
That means if you're flying on a United Express aircraft in or out of one of the airline's hubs, there's a better chance than not you'll be on a plane that's Starlink-equipped.
That update came some four months after the carrier first debuted the service on an Embraer 175 out of its O'Hare International Airport (ORD) home base in Chicago — which I found to be a dramatic upgrade over its existing Wi-Fi service, allowing me to get work done on one device while streaming a live baseball game on another.
Earlier this year, the carrier said it hoped to complete Starlink installations on its two-cabin regional fleet of jets by the end of 2025.
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Bottom line
United's Starlink rollout comes as higher-quality — and complimentary — Wi-Fi is quickly becoming the norm in the U.S. airline industry.
United, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have all deployed or announced plans for free Wi-Fi across most (or all) of their fleets.
JetBlue has offered complimentary browsing to its flyers for years, and recently announced a major upgrade to its service.
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