You Can Now Easily See If You Have Starlink If Flying With This US Airline

Louis is a military historian and the staff writer for History of War magazine, a leading military history monthly. He also has an interest in private and commercial aviation.

United Airlines has launched its Starlink WiFi Tracker, which you can use to learn if your flight will have the capability installed. On top of the tracker, you will also learn if Starlink is available through pre-flight emails, text notifications and on the flight status page in the United app. Onboard, you will be told through announcements and signage.

The Starlink rollout is now complete on 43% of aircraft, meaning that the majority of United flights each day do not have the capability. This tool will not be useful forever. United Airlines claims that Starlink will be available across all of its aircraft by the end of 2027. Simple Flying has contacted United for further comment.

How To Use The Starlink WiFi Tracker

The StarlinkWiFi Tracker is a simple yet effective tool. All you have to do is put in your flight date and flight number. It will tell you if you'll be able to connect to Starlink, or if an alternative (and slower) form of Wi-Fi will be available to purchase. You can use the tool up to three days before your flight departure.

Getting on a flight with Starlink Wi-Fi is important for passengers looking to use their time in the air to stream a movie or get some work done because of how fast it is. In the Facebook post embedded below, United claims that its Starlink internet is up to 50 times faster than standard aircraft internet, with speeds reaching up to 400 Mbps.

Andrew Nocella, United's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, said:

"Starlink gives customers even more reasons to choose United and keep coming back. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customers and strong response to our 'Switch to Better Wi-Fi' status match offer show how much that matters. Our new tracker makes it easier for customers to see which flights they can experience it on as we quickly expand Starlink across our fleet."

You Can Also Use The Tracker To Follow United's Starlink Rollout

Another feature of the tool is the ability to follow along as United makes Starlink Wi-Fi available across more of its fleet. This includes information on fleet completion, total installations, prevalence across the network each day, and the hubs with the highest Starlink prevalence.

The table below shows the current stats for these metrics:

The tool also shows what relevant offers are available. At time of writing, the offer was a status match. Customers who have elite status on Delta Air Lines and American Airlines can access a status match by applying before October 22. The premier status is activated within 90 days, with the ability to spend and fly on United and United Express aircraft.

United's Starlink Plan Requires 20 Retrofits Per Week

View From The Wing reports that United's most ambitious Starlink plan is to have it available on all aircraft by May 2027, which is over 1,000 aircraft. That would require more than 20 aircraft to be retrofitted each week, with the work being done across 17 maintenance stations. If United can pull it off, they'll soar ahead of other legacy US airlines. For example, Delta will not start its Amazon satellite internet rollout until 2028.

United has charged into this project with so much vigor because it has found Starlink is supremely popular among its customers. It reports customer satisfaction scores reaching twice as high with the service. The "Switch To Better Wi-Fi" shows how it's using Starlink with the direct intention of gaining loyal customers.