If you've flown United lately, there's roughly a coin-flip chance your plane had Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet that's fast enough to stream video, and it was free. United's Starlink Wi-Fi is now on about half of its flights, CEO Scott Kirby said in a podcast interview released Tuesday, and Los Angeles is set to become the first United hub where every flight has it. Kirby called Starlink United's "biggest competitive advantage," then added a twist most CEOs wouldn't: "And it's temporary."
When You'll Get It
United has been installing Starlink on about three planes a day, Kirby said, mostly while they're already in the hangar for heavy maintenance. It was on 48% of United's flights as of the interview, and he expected that to pass 50% within a week. The airline originally planned to put it on only about 65% of its fleet, since some older planes are being retired, but expanded the rollout after early feedback from customers.
Los Angeles comes first. Kirby said every United flight there should have Starlink "sometime in the first half of next year," though he didn't give an exact date. Hubs with a lot of Boeing 787s, the plane United flies on many long international routes, will take longer, because the 787 still needs approval for the system.
Until then, it's a bit of a lottery, and United plans to show you the odds. Kirby said the United app will display the probability that your flight has Starlink. A flight on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 might show about a 25% chance, he said, while Christmas bookings were running around 36%. If Wi-Fi matters to you, it's one more reason to check which plane you're on before you book.
Why It's Free
Kirby said United "was going to make it free anyway," and that the selling point is speed, not price. He argued that rivals' free Wi-Fi often feels slow because there isn't enough bandwidth to go around. On United, the Wi-Fi is free for MileagePlus members, so you'll need to log in with a (free) account to use it. Planes without Starlink still charge for Wi-Fi, as our guide to free Wi-Fi on US airlines explains.
That's not a given everywhere. Some airlines that have signed up for Starlink are starting to charge for it, and easyJet, which is adding it from 2027, hasn't said whether passengers will pay.
United Airlines · Starlink
How Close United Is to Free Wi-Fi Everywhere
have Starlink now
"I think it's the biggest competitive advantage. And it's temporary."
SCOTT KIRBY, UNITED CEOContrail
A Head Start, Not a Lead Forever
Kirby was unusually candid that the advantage has an expiration date. Other airlines will eventually get similar fast satellite internet, he said, so United expects to have only a few years as the one airline with it at this scale.
He didn't hold back on the competition, either. Kirby described United and Delta as the only two US airlines that are really winning right now, and said he expects American to lose about $1.5 billion in Chicago this year, where the two airlines go head to head at O'Hare. American doesn't report its profits city by city, so there's no way to check that number, and it's worth reading as a rival's jab as much as a forecast.
He also touched on something travelers in Denver might appreciate today, with fog holding up flights there this morning. Kirby said United's AI-driven weather planning could cut its summer weather delays in Denver by 50% to 75%. That's a big promise, and summer thunderstorms there will be the real test.
