United Is Bringing Starlink to Its First 737, and It’s Seriously Fast

United Airlines is rolling out Starlink Wi-Fi to its Boeing jets, which make up a significant portion of its large mainline fleet.

The first plane with Starlink Wi-Fi, a Boeing 737-800, will take flight Oct. 15, 2025, from Newark, New Jersey, to Houston. The flight number is UA 2940 — the same as the approximate number of antennas United expects to install across its fleet.

Until now, the Starlink rollout has been limited to smaller planes in the United Express regional fleet, making this an exciting development for the carrier’s passengers. The Boeing 737-800 is United’s first Boeing plane type to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for Starlink installation, with more expected to come at a later time. The Starlink Wi-Fi is available for free to all United MileagePlus members.

However, don’t get too excited just yet. The rollout will take some time, as United has more than 1,000 planes in its mainline fleet.

United invited me on a media flight from Chicago to Chicago (yes, you read that right) to test out Starlink on the first Boeing 737-800 with the service. I was onboard a similar flight in May 2025 for the United Express-Starlink launch, and it was clear that United has worked out some kinks in the last few months. Things felt faster, smoother and more streamlined this time around.

Here’s what to expect when flying on a Starlink-enabled plane.

I ran multiple internet speed tests on my phone using Speedtest by Ookla, and I routinely clocked download speeds of 250 to 400 megabits per second, with upload speeds of 15 to 50 megabits per second.

That may not mean much to a regular person, so put simply, it’s very fast. In fact, it took me about five seconds to download the Ookla app (170 MB), and I was able to stream high-quality live TV on the Peacock app.

Speeds were slightly slower on my laptop, but they were still impressive. One test showed 200 Mbps download and 45 Mbps upload. I was able to watch multiple YouTube videos concurrently without issue.

Contrast that with the regional flight for media, where I had issues with YouTube thumbnails loading slowly. That wasn’t the case this time around, but it probably helped that there weren’t as many media members on this flight. (The person across the aisle from me, however, did bring at least five devices to test the system.)

Starlink uses a group of low Earth orbit satellites that allow for significantly faster speeds in the air. The Starlink equipment is also lighter than traditional United Wi-Fi systems, which helps improve fuel efficiency, according to Mara Palcisco, United’s vice president for engineering and reliability.

Another benefit: The technology is not affected by weather the way traditional systems can be, Palcisco said at the event.

To use Starlink on United, you’ll need to have a United MileagePlus account. If you don’t have one, you can sign up onboard.

Starlink allows for gate-to-gate connectivity, meaning you should have access once you board the plane. All you need to do is connect to the “unitedwifi.com” network and follow the prompts in the pop-up window that opens.

I would recommend installing the United app and signing into your account before the flight. That way, the system will automatically recognize you as a MileagePlus member and you can bypass additional login screens.

Once you’re in, you’ll be greeted with some snazzy graphics that will take you through the rules of using the in-flight Wi-Fi. In short, passengers are not allowed to make voice or video calls and should avoid watching content that others might find offensive.

You’ll need to watch a brief ad (mine was an advertisement for United credit cards), and then you’re ready to browse to your heart’s content.

If you have other devices, you’ll follow similar steps to connect the unitedwifi.com network. However, instead of signing in again, you’ll find a QR code that you can scan with your phone’s camera to automatically log you on.

United is billing Starlink as a game-changer for flights because of the ways it can improve the passenger experience, especially via the seatback screen.

With Starlink enabled, United is able to feed live data to the seatback, which can help, for example, passengers with connecting flights because it can show live gate updates and flight status.

United has also recently announced digital content partnerships with Spotify and Apple TV, with more announcements expected in the coming months.

The Starlink rollout comes as United has invested in the passenger experience, with plans to install more than 300,000 seatback screens across its fleet (the most of any airline). In May 2025, United demoed its “United Elevated” interiors on new Boeing 787-9 planes, which will include 13-inch 4K OLED screens in coach.

“The notion of why we’re doing what we’re doing really started around all the stuff we take for granted on Earth: 24/7, across any device and you can do whatever you want. This doesn’t exist in the sky,” United MileagePlus CEO Richard Nunn said at the event. “With Starlink, that partnership really enabled us to do that.”

As of June 2025, United has 1,039 planes in its mainline fleet, and 812 of those are narrowbody planes, like the Boeing 737-800. That means it’ll take some time for the rollout to finish.

United says it expects to install Starlink on up to 15 Boeing 737-800 planes a month. Unlike the regional planes, these will have two antennas each, essentially doubling the available bandwidth for these larger aircraft.

Grant Milstead, United’s vice president of digital technology, says the airline is focusing on planes that need the technology the most, particularly those that currently use air-to-ground technology, which communicate with cell towers on the ground.

Following the 737-800s, United’s focus will turn to installing Starlink on its 737-900s and 737-900ERs. Existing widebody planes will get the Starlink upgrade later, although the new Boeing 787-9 planes are expected to come with Starlink equipped.

On the regional front, United has moved quickly since May 2025. More than half of the airline’s regional fleet is equipped with Starlink. By the end of the year, the service is expected to be on nearly 300 regional planes.

Earlier this year, those regional planes encountered static interference issues that forced United to shut down Starlink service. However, Doug Stoltz, United’s director of cabin systems engineering, says the airline tested the issue to make sure it wouldn’t be a problem with the mainline planes.

Top photo by Benjamin Din/NerdWallet.