The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified United Airlines’ first Starlink-equipped mainline aircraft. The first commercial flight is planned for October 15.
The FAA certification comes less than a year after United signed the industry’s largest agreement of its kind with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s Wi-Fi service free to MileagePlus members on the airline’s mainline and regional aircraft fleet.
The FAA approved Starlink’s Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) amendment for the Boeing 737-800 to include United’s fleet. United completed the equipment installation on its first mainline aircraft and expects the first Starlink-equipped mainline flight to be onboard a Boeing 737-800 that will fly from Newark/New York on October 15.
Certification involves approval of the design, installation and testing of the system to ensure safe and reliable operations.
United’s first Starlink-equipped regional flight took place on a regional jet in May and the airline now has Starlink installed on more than half of the aircraft in its regional fleet.
Starlink continues to secure an FAA STC to install Starlink on every United aircraft type getting the new equipment. That encompasses more than 16 total regional and mainline aircraft models.
The Starlink system, when compared to other equipment, allows for a faster and simpler installation because it is lighter, requiring less fuel to operate the aircraft and is more reliable and weather-proofed.
Free for all MileagePlus customers, Starlink provides Wi-Fi speeds of up to 250 megabits per second (Mbps).
Customer scores on those flights have been noteworthy with 90% of customers appreciating the ability to stream onboard with a high-speed, easy-to-use and consistent Wi-Fi connection.
Grant Milstead, Vice President of Digital Technology at United Airlines, said: “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. We’re working to install Starlink and offer game-changing inflight entertainment experiences like streaming services, shopping, gaming and more.”
