Airline · United States

United Airlines Wi-Fi

United is fitting Starlink to its fleet. The service is available on selected flights and is free for MileagePlus members on equipped aircraft.

Provider: Starlink
Network: See connection instructions below; the network name may depend on the aircraft.
Free: United says Starlink is free for MileagePlus members on flights with the equipment.

Checked 2 November 2026. Prices and policies as of November 2026.

Who provides it

Starlink
Available on selected United and United Express aircraft. United is fitting more aircraft and expects to finish by the end of 2027.

What’s free

United says Starlink is free for MileagePlus members on flights with the equipment.
United says MileagePlus membership is free. Its guidance describes signing up before travel.

As of November 2026.

Prices

United’s Starlink tracker does not give a general price for other onboard Wi-Fi. Check the offer for your aircraft and flight.

As of November 2026.

Streaming and calls

United says its Starlink service supports streaming on equipped flights. Availability and performance can vary during a flight.

VPNs

United’s Starlink tracker does not give a general VPN compatibility rule. Check the onboard instructions for the service on your flight.

Which planes have it

United’s tracker lists regional, narrowbody and widebody aircraft in its rollout. It expects installations across its fleet to be complete by the end of 2027. Equipment can change, so a fleet plan is not a guarantee for a particular flight.

How to connect

Before departure, check your booking and United’s instructions for the service on your aircraft.

Use United’s Starlink tracker to check a flight up to three days before departure.
Make sure you have your MileagePlus sign-in details if you plan to use the member offer.
On board, follow the crew’s instructions for airplane mode and Wi-Fi.
Choose the network shown in United’s onboard instructions, then follow the sign-in page.

United’s tracker is its own flight lookup. Aircraft assignments can change; the service shown before departure is not a guarantee.

On board with Kilobat

Kilobat is a Mac menu-bar app that shows what each app sends and holds back what can wait. On a plane:

The sign-in page. When it doesn’t open by itself, the menu bar says This Wi-Fi wants you to sign in, with Open sign-in page. Turn your VPN on after you’ve signed in.
Mark it metered. macOS treats plane Wi-Fi as unlimited. Mark it Metered in Kilobat’s Wi-Fi menu or with kilobat networks cost metered, and Kilobat skips its own speed tests. If automatic switching is enabled, it switches to Travel.
Updates wait. With Pro, paused updaters enabled and the network filter on, macOS Software Update, App Store downloads, Google Updater and Microsoft AutoUpdate wait for an unmetered network. The apps keep working.
See what’s using it. Every app’s upload and download, live in the menu bar, so a messaging-only plan isn’t spent on a sync you forgot.
Send later. A big upload, such as Dropbox syncing a folder, shows as a row with its speed. With Pro, Send later can hold it until you’re on unmetered Wi-Fi again, for up to eight hours while Kilobat is open.
Know what’s slow. Health shows latency and loss, and with Pro their history through the flight. Those measurements can help you investigate a slow connection. When Slack or Zoom won’t load, Is it them or me? reads the service’s status page.

Questions

Is United Starlink free?

United says it is free for MileagePlus members on equipped flights. The Starlink rollout is still in progress.

Can I check whether my United flight has Starlink?

United’s Starlink tracker can check a flight up to three days before departure. Confirm again with the airline if the aircraft changes.

Does every United flight have Starlink?

No. United’s tracker describes a fleet rollout, with completion expected by the end of 2027.

Sources

Checked on 2 November 2026.