United Airlines stated on Sunday that it plans to test Elon Musk’s Starlink in February for in-flight internet services and implement the connectivity for the first time this spring on a commercial flight using Embraer E-175 aircraft.
TakeAway Points:
- United Airlines said on Sunday it expects to begin testing Elon Musk’s Starlink in February for in-flight internet services and to first offer the connectivity on a commercial flight operated by Embraer E-175 aircraft this spring.
- The airline plans to outfit its entire two-cabin regional fleet with the service by the end of 2025 and have its first Starlink-enabled plane on major routes in the air by the end of the year.
- Elon Musk’s Starlink and Kyivstar, Ukraine’s top mobile operator, have inked a deal to launch direct-to-cell satellite communication, the parent company of Kyivstar, VEON, announced Monday.
United Airlines to bring Musk’s Starlink on flights by spring
The airline plans to outfit its entire two-cabin regional fleet with the service by the end of 2025 and have its first Starlink-enabled plane on major routes in the air by the end of the year.
Starlink will eventually be available on all its flights, the airline said in a statement.
However, United said access would be free only for MileagePlus members, revising an earlier plan to offer free Wi-Fi to all passengers.
Last year, United signed a deal with Starlink to provide in-flight internet services across its entire fleet of over 1,000 aircraft over the next several years.
Starlink, a unit of SpaceX, has inked deals with multiple airlines to provide in-flight internet services as it seeks to expand its reach beyond consumers and households in rural areas around the world with little to no internet access.
The satellite-based internet services provider has previously signed deals with Hawaiian Airlines and regional carrier JSX.
Starlink to roll out direct-to-cell services in Ukraine
Ukraine’s leading mobile operator Kyivstar has signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s Starlink to introduce direct-to-cell satellite connectivity, Kyivstar’s parent company VEON said on Monday.
Direct-to-cell devices are connected to satellites equipped with modems that function like a cellphone tower, beaming phone signals from space directly to smartphones.
Kyivstar expects direct-to-cell services with messaging functionality to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2025, the telecoms group said in a joint statement. The operator will expand voice and data services in later stages.
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
SpaceX-owned Starlink, which also provides critical internet connectivity to war-torn Ukraine and its military, launched its first set of satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities earlier this year.
The satellite broadband firm has struck deals with local providers for direct-to-cell services in the U.S. and seven other countries, including Japan and New Zealand.
Ukraine will be one of the first countries in the world with direct-to-cell connectivity and the first conflict zone where Starlink will roll out this technology, according to its website.
Russia has ramped up its efforts to jam signals between Starlink satellites and ground terminals in Ukraine since 2022.
The agreement comes as Musk, Starlink’s owner, grows more engaged with the incoming Trump administration in the U.S. and its Ukraine strategy.
In November, he joined a call between President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which he said he would continue supplying Starlink satellites to Ukraine, Axios reported.
