The date is established: the first United Airlines aircraft that looks like their free Wi-Fi Wi-Fi that will reach the skies on May 15, the carrier announced on Thursday.
I had the opportunity to try it, and I can certify: it is as fast as it is announced.
Next week, travelers on some relatively ordinary regional flights will be the first to experience the new Internet connectivity.
First above: United Express service next day from the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago (Ord) to Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport (DTW), TPG confirmed.
Later that day, regional aircraft connected to Starlink will make visits to Nashville and Charlottesville, Virginia, on routes from and from O’Hare.
And then, those aircraft equipped with the new technology will be directed to other cities in the following days and weeks.
This highly anticipated debut will arrive approximately eight months after United announced for the first time that it would add high -speed connectivity with its fleet.
The rapid Internet service will be free for flyers who have a milage loyalty number in their name, and travelers aboard those connected jets can connect as many of their devices as they want.
“This internet is fast. Nothing will be felt like having experienced in the skies before,” Grant Milstead, Vice President of United Digital Technology, said Thursday. “It’s faster than internet in my house.”
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What to wait for the new Unitedk Starlink service
He was among a small handful of media invited to try the new Starlink service on Thursday on a flight that left (and then returned to) O’Hare, operated by the regional partner of United Skyst.
Prepollo
Customers will know that they are on a plane connected to Starlink, one thing receives an email before the exit, such as the one I received around 24 hours before my flight.
You can also miss the decal next to the shipment in the airplanes equipped with the new service, such as this Embraer 175.
Connection
Once on board, the connection was easy. I started by taking out my phone and selecting the Unitedwifi.com network, which led me to a destination page.
Once I click on “Start”, the system jumped directly to the United United mobile application already installed on my phone, instantly verifying that I am a member of Mileagesplus. I clicks on “Connect”, I saw a brief ad, and then I was in business.
Log in my other devices it was easier: a QR code appeared on my iPad (and then my laptop). I scanned it with my phone, and then the devices were also online.
“We want the experience to begin as soon as it feels, and the experience will end at its destination when it is ready to stand. Do not wait for that thing at 10,000 feet,” Milstead explained in an informative session prior to light.
How fast is it?
United is certainly not exaggerating the speed of the service: I could simultaneously see live news to feed the selection of a new Pope One device, and transmit a baseball game of the League League in another.
1 either 2
Are Cudahy/The Points Guy
I executed a speed test, and recorded the Wi-Fi at 217 Mbps or a discharge speed, and 26.8 Mbps or load speed.
In this special media flight, I was able to join a zoom meeting with a colleague and, just in case, Facetimed at Clint Henderson of TPG from 30,000 feet.
To be clear: that won real life flights.
As part of the Starlink login process, United reminds customers about some rules, which do not include any video or video calls.
“We will expect our customers to use headphones when they listen to content,” added Milstead. “And we will ask them to look at the appropriate content.”
Ambitious planned deployment
As TPG Zach Griff saw first -hand earlier this year, United can modernize its aircraft with the new Internet service quickly. Once they increase, United officials told me, they can add it with maintenance during the night.
Starlink is starting with the regional fleet of United Express Jets, and the airline expects all its regional two-cabin airplanes to have the free Wi-Fi for the end of this year.
At least a largest United United plane obtains the service before the end of 2025, executives said Thursday.
A growing industry trend
United followed in the footsteps of the rival Delta Air Lines when announcing fast and free Wi-Fi for all his fleet thinking, the head carrier in Chicago believes that his Starlink service will be superior to the eyes of the clients.
And he helped to solidify a trend of the industry towards free connectivity that undoubtedly feeds the recent decision of American Airlines to change his Wi-Fi service to next year.
“There is a lot for free, there is a lot of fast in the aviation industry,” said the Mileageplus CEO, Richard Nunn, about United’s service on Thursday. “But this is a different level.”
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