A collaboration between United Airlines and Spotify will make over 450 hours of complimentary content available on the airline’s seatback screens.
It is the first time that Spotify has offered audiobooks and video podcasts onboard an airline, enabling United flyers to enjoy more than 65 pieces of content, including popular titles like Good Hang with Amy Poehler, The Dave Chang Show and The Comment Section with Drew Afualo.
From 2026, United passengers will be able to use their personal electronic devices (PEDs) to log into the Spotify app on the inflight entertainment screen. This will allow passengers to enjoy their favourite personalised content on the seatback, so they can listen to their favourite podcasts, music and audiobooks from where they left off.
Spotify content will be available on more than 680 United aircraft with new 4K, Bluetooth-enabled seatback screens, appearing as a new content category – Spotify. This replaces Audio under the home menu and includes Podcast, Video Podcasts, Audiobooks and Playlists channels.
In the coming months, the majority of aircraft will receive a dedicated Spotify-featured channel where all Spotify content will be housed.
On Starlink-equipped aircraft, travellers can stream Spotify content on their PEDs from gate to gate without interruption. To do so, they will need to log into their MileagePlus account and accept the terms and conditions for using Starlink.
“Spotify has a huge audience and people love their content. And now our customers can enjoy it all in a simple and easy way, at 35,000 feet. Together, we’re giving millions of customers an entirely new way to experience and explore premium content from the world’s most popular artists, authors and podcasters – all while flying with the latest technology in the sky,” said Richard Nunn, CEO of MileagePlus.
Ian Geller, Vice President of Business Development at Spotify, said: “At Spotify, we’re dedicated to being everywhere our users are, giving creators opportunities to reach new platforms and engage different audiences. I’m especially looking forward to bringing an even more personalised app streaming experience to seatbacks next year.”
