United Receives FAA Certification for First Starlink-Equipped Mainline Aircraft
United completed equipment installation on first 737-800 and expects first customer flight to depart from Newark/New York on October 15
Starlink is now installed on more than half of the aircraft in United's regional fleet, and the airline continues to install Starlink on approximately 50 regional jets each month
CHICAGO, Sept. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- United today announced the FAA certified its first mainline Starlink-equipped aircraft, and the first commercial flight is planned for October 15.
This certification comes less than five months since the first Starlink-equipped United customer flight on the Embraer 175 regional aircraft and less than a year since United signed the industry's largest agreement of its kind with SpaceX to bring Starlink's fast, reliable 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 United Boeing 737-800 that will fly from Newark/New York on October 15.
United's first Starlink-equipped regional flight took place on a regional jet in May 2025, and the airline now has Starlink installed on more than half of the aircraft in its regional fleet. Initial customer scores on those flights have been noteworthy with 90% of customers appreciating the ability to stream onboard with Starlink's high-speed, easy-to-use and consistent connection.
"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," said Grant Milstead, United's Vice President of Digital Technology. "We're working to install Starlink and offer game-changing inflight entertainment experiences like streaming services, shopping, gaming and more."
Starlink stands to unlock an incredible onboard experience for United customers – the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky, for free.
Starlink continues to secure an FAA STC to install Starlink on every United aircraft type getting the new equipment – more than 16 total regional and mainline aircraft models.
The FAA certification process involves approval of the design, installation, testing and certification of the system to ensure safe and reliable operations. United unveiled the Starlink installation process earlier this year, underscoring the technical operations benefits associated with the equipment, including size and weight as well as the ease of install and maintenance. The Starlink system, when compared to non-Starlink 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.
Starlink is free for all MileagePlus® customers and includes game-changing inflight entertainment experiences like streaming services, shopping, gaming and more, thanks to Wi-Fi speeds up to 250 megabits per second (Mbps). Membership to MileagePlus® is also free, and people can sign-up now at united.com/starlink.
See here for visual assets, and visit united.com/starlink for additional information.
About United
At United, Good Leads The Way. With U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers and is now the largest airline in the world as measured by available seat miles. For more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
About Starlink
Starlink is the world's most advanced satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit, delivering reliable broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls, and more. Starlink is engineered and operated by SpaceX. As the world's leading provider of launch services, and the only provider with an orbital class reusable rocket – SpaceX has deep experience with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations. Learn more at http://www.starlink.com and follow @Starlink on X.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on historical performance and current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans, commitments, strategies and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, known or unknown, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect United's business and market, particularly those identified in the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" sections in United's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law or regulation, United undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-receives-faa-certification-for-first-starlink-equipped-mainline-aircraft-302568174.html
SOURCE United Airlines