United Installs Starlink on Its First Regional Aircraft

United has installed Starlink on its first regional aircraft after unveiling plans to eventually add the service to its entire fleet earlier this year.

The airline expects to outfit over 40 regional aircraft each month beginning in May through to the end of 2025, covering its entire two-cabin regional fleet by the end of the year.

Some smaller US airlines, like Hawaiian Airlines, have already added Starlink to their fleets, but this is the first time we’ve seen an airline of this size make the jump.

United says that customers using the newly equipped regional aircraft can expect Wi-Fi speeds up to 250 megabits per second (Mbps), which is 50 times faster than current regional aircraft speeds. PCMag got the chance to test out United’s Starlink speeds earlier this year, and the results there were impressive, with downloads hitting 126Mbps and uploads hitting 7.6Mbps, with ping times of 54 milliseconds.

Starlink access will be free for all customers, but you’ll need to sign up for United’s frequent flyer loyalty service, MileagePlus, if you want to use it.

The improved connectivity doesn’t come at the cost of much extra load. The entire Starlink installation kit weighs just 85 pounds, according to United, compared to its other inflight provider kits that can weigh up to 300 pounds, with no moving parts.

Starlink is experiencing pretty severe backlash from some consumers over allegations it could withdraw support for Ukraine (which have been vehemently denied), but it’s certainly not lacking in new customers in the short term.

Multiple areas in the US are now “sold out,” as spotted by a user on Twitter/X, including parts of Florida, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and northern Georgia–indicating Starlink is struggling to provide enough network capacity in some areas of the US.

Numerous other airlines have announced plans to introduce Starlink into their fleets during 2025, including Air France, Air New Zealand, and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS).

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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