United Airlines has announced that Starlink is now installed on its first regional aircraft. It has also unveiled details relating to the equipment and the installation and maintenance processes.
The airline expects to outfit more than 40 regional aircraft a month from May to the end of 2025. The average installation time for Starlink is approximately eight hours, excluding the de-installation of existing equipment, testing or aircraft modification. That is approximately 10 times faster than installing non-Starlink equipment.
The airline has already announced it plans to outfit its entire two-cabin region fleet by the end of 2025. Ultimately, United will add Starlink to its entire fleet.
United is taking each plane out of service for just four days to de-install existing equipment, install Starlink, run tests and close the aircraft parts opened during the installation process. On average, it takes over 10 days to perform similar work on alternative systems.
The Starlink installation kit weighs 85 pounds (38.5 kg) and is electronically steered with no moving parts, making it easier to transport and install, and requiring less maintenance than the available alternatives. The 85-pound footprint means the aircraft requires less fuel to operate than with other inflight providers.
Weather on the ground doesn’t hinder connectivity due to weather-proof inter-satellite laser link technology, which allows satellites to communicate to each other and the ground reliably.
Starlink-equipped aircraft will constantly switch between the largest low-earth orbit constellation of satellites to ensure the best coverage and most reliable Wi-Fi onboard.
United has confirmed that passengers on Starlink-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.
Grant Milstead, Vice President of Digital Technology at United Airliness, said: “Starlink has been a terrific partner – our combined spirit of innovation and collaboration will enable us to hit our goal of more than 300 regional aircraft installations before the end of this year.”
