- Kenny Totten is the cofounder of a travel startup and travels for work 15 to 20 times a year.
- He has had Delta's Diamond Medallion status for seven years and been a SkyMiles member for 14 years.
- He switched to flying United due to Starlink on United flights and having his status matched.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kenny Totten, a 38-year-old founder based in Orlando. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I've been a Delta SkyMiles member for the last 14 years, and I've had Delta's Diamond Medallion status — their highest loyalty tier — for the past seven years.
As a Delta loyalist, there was nothing sadder than the news that they passed up Starlink.
I'm the cofounder of AllFly, a travel startup, and I travel for work about 15 to 20 times a year. Being connected on the plane is the No. 1 priority for me.
After flying a United flight in July that included Starlink, it was enough reason for me to switch.
Having Starlink on my flight was a pleasant surprise
In July, I had to go home to New Jersey for a funeral. I booked a last-minute flight from Orlando to Newark on United, as I was looking for a direct flight. Given the circumstances, I wasn't looking for Starlink.
Having worked in travel, I knew people were clamoring about Starlink, but I hadn't gotten to experience it yet. I didn't see any notifications before my flight about it being a Starlink flight.
That day, I sat down in my seat, and my seatback screen notified me that the plane had Starlink. It was a pleasant surprise. I took the opportunity to connect on my laptop immediately. It was nice that from the moment you entered the plane, you could be on the internet, rather than waiting until you were in the air or above a certain altitude.
I needed to edit a video on CapCut for an upcoming social media campaign. I used Starlink to download a video, and then upload it and send it to a teammate for them to work on, too. I was also able to send pictures. We were building an internal app, and so I vibe-coded fully on Replit using Starlink. I had a lot of tabs open and had Claude running.
It was amazing, like being on the internet at my house, in my living room— that's how fast it is. For the two-hour flight, I was just doing work.
As a founder, I don't get the luxury of being able to log off for a few hours in the middle of the day. When Slack and email are going, or I'm collaborating and working with teammates, or I'm building an app, I want to have fast internet. If I'm going to be on the plane for two or three hours, it's so beneficial to be able to get things done in the air and work as if I'm at home, instead of losing a few hours.
For leisure, or if I travel on the weekends, Starlink is a little less essential. I seldom log on and work on weekend flights. I'm a big TV and movie guy, and I can just download movies or shows to my iPad and brain-rot.
I was disappointed my flight home didn't have Starlink
I was so hopeful that my flight would have Starlink too. It didn't. It was such a letdown because I'd just experienced something so magical, and then I had to go back to the normal United Wi-Fi. (Editor's note: In a July 2026 press release, United said it expects that nearly 1,000 aircraft will be Starlink-equipped by the end of the year.)
I tried logging into Replit so I could continue vibe coding. It couldn't even hold a connection — it was horrible. I gave up and just listened to a podcast.
In my experience, normal Delta WiFi is much better than normal United WiFi.
On Delta, you're able to browse the internet, be on Slack or Microsoft Teams, and do light work. You could watch videos, but sometimes the buffering is a little slow. It really struggles with downloading and uploading; sending a photo or a document on Delta WiFi would rarely go through for me.
On most Delta flights that I'm on, there's at least some segment of the flight during which the internet goes out for a period of time, whether for a few minutes or 20 minutes. The reliability of the uptime leaves a bit to be desired.
Connecting and using anything intensive is a pain. I don't think I've been able to do anything more than being on Replit or doing some work with Claude or ChatGPT.
I previously chose Delta because I felt they had the best planes, lounges, and routes
I'd go out of my way to maintain my Delta status; if there was a direct United flight and a Delta flight with a connection, I would take the Delta flight. In the past, I'd book Delta even if it cost up to around $100 more.
It's so hard to get status on airlines — you have to spend a lot of money and travel extensively — so I jumped at United's offer to match my status to Premier 1K for 120 days. I applied and had my status matched within two days.
United has to compete, and status matching is how you win travelers from the other guy. If Delta suddenly handed out Diamond status to a bunch of people, and clubs were more crowded and upgrades got harder, I'd be ticked off too, but I get the business side.
Starlink is pushing me to book with United more than I used to
If United does a good job with its Starlink rollout, I could see myself splitting my time between Delta and United.
For United, in order to maintain my status for the following year, I have to either fly 20 qualifying flights or earn 7,500 qualifying points (equal to spending $7,500 on flights) within 120 days, which would be extremely hard for me, so my 1K status may be short-lived.
I get my Delta status through spending on my Delta Business Reserve credit card, so my Delta status will likely never be in jeopardy.
When I can fly somewhere directly on United and prices are comparable, I think United will win for me in the future. Price, schedule, and times are all factors, but if everything else is close, I'd pick a Starlink flight if I'm flying more than two hours, especially during the workweek.
The problem is, at the current moment, I can't easily tell which flights have it. Delta still wins when it's the direct flight option, better price, or better schedule.
I hope Delta listens to its customers
I would rather fly Delta everywhere, but now its free WiFi is inferior. Nearly all of Delta's peers went with StarLink, while Delta went with Amazon Leo, which won't be out until 2028.
I hope Delta takes stock of all the online chatter and listens to its customers. It has done a great job in the past of continually improving its product and listening to its customers.
It was one of the first airlines in America to offer free WiFi, which has always been a staple, so the whole Starlink dustup is surprising.
For the most profitable and what I feel is the most premium airline in America, it seems odd for Delta not to outfit its planes with the best in-flight internet.
A Delta spokesperson said, "We're grateful for the loyalty of our customers and remain focused on earning it every time they fly with us. Delta continues to invest in strengthening our connected network and we're proud to offer an award-winning, premium travel experience with elevated products, loyalty benefits and the signature hospitality that Delta is known for."