Elon Musk’s free Starlink Wi-Fi: How United Airlines is attracting travelers

United Airlines is driving traveler growth by offering free Starlink Wi-Fi on board, giving passengers access to faster internet connectivity during flights.

According to United Airlines CEO, Scott Kirby reports that customers are switching from competitors due to free high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi available to MileagePlus members on equipped flights.

The reports showed that status-match requests from rival frequent-flyer programs are up fourfold, and a quarter of those have acquired or sought co-branded United credit cards, signaling expanding brand allegiance across key hub cities like Chicago and New York.

The airline has Starlink on over 640 planes, installing it on 20 more weekly in spite of elevated aviation fuel prices and a recent shortfall in earnings.

Elon Musk, noting the impact, posted, “Starlink moves the needle.”

United will cross 50% of flights with Starlink this week and is projected to finalize its full fleet rollout by the end of next year.

On social platform X, users have been responding with one writing, “United tells you straight away on the announcements on the plane how to access it. On most aircraft you have to dig for the name of the network and website to download and by the time you find out how to log on to the damn WiFi you’re landing.”

Second remarked, “Fly once with Starlink wifi and you're hooked. Can't go back to the old stuff.”

Third added, “Starlink is changing the game. Better connectivity, better passenger experiences and more competition in the airline industry. The future of in flight WiFi is looking bright.”