SpaceX Doubles Starlink In-Flight Wi-Fi Orders with United Airlines Deal #

SpaceX has significantly expanded its Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi orders following a recent deal with United Airlines. The agreement has nearly doubled the company’s backlog, bringing the total number of aircraft under contract to approximately 2,500.

United Airlines announced plans to retrofit over 1,000 planes with Starlink technology, offering free Wi-Fi to passengers. This deal marks Starlink’s largest in-flight connectivity (IFC) agreement to date and will replace United’s existing Wi-Fi providers over the next several years.

Starlink has been steadily expanding its presence in the in-flight Wi-Fi market, with previous deals including Hawaiian Airlines, Qatar Airways, Japan’s Zipair, Latvia’s airBaltic, and semi-private charter JSX. The company has already begun service with some of these airlines.

The Starlink network currently consists of about 6,400 satellites in orbit, connecting more than 3 million customers across 100 countries. The company boasts significantly higher capacity compared to legacy systems, with over 300 terabits per second of capacity available today.

SpaceX continues to increase its capacity by launching new Starlink satellites approximately every three days on average this year. The company is also working to streamline the installation process for aircraft, aiming to complete retrofits in under a day.

The in-flight connectivity market is becoming increasingly competitive, with other airlines like Delta also offering free Wi-Fi to loyalty program members. Delta reported gaining 3 million additional SkyMiles members after introducing free internet access.

As Starlink expands its services and improves installation efficiency, it is poised to become a major player in the in-flight Wi-Fi market, potentially reshaping the industry landscape in the coming years.