United Airlines announced last week that it came to an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring the Starlink internet service to its entire fleet. That’s a huge partnership for both parties, and as this rollout takes place, anyone who flies United will be able to access free Wi-Fi on their flight.
Right now, United uses a mix of four different in-flight wi-fi providers, which each have different capabilities and limitations – this inconsistency isn’t ideal for customers, not to mention, it costs $8. Since Starlink’s satellites are closer to aircrafts, they should be able to offer a better user experience.
TechCrunch’s Frederic Lardinois spoke with an executive at United to break down how this deal came together, and we’ve got the details.