Want to know whether your next United flight out of Newark will have fast Wi-Fi? Just look it up.
United Airlines said Thursday that Starlink satellite Wi-Fi is now available on nearly half its daily departures. The airline also launched an online tracker that lets customers check whether their flight is equipped.
The tracker, at StarlinkTracker.United.com, lets travelers enter a flight number and travel date within three days of departure.
The tracker updates in real time for last-minute aircraft swaps. It also shows how many planes have Starlink, breaks the count down by regional, narrowbody and widebody aircraft, and lists the percentage of Starlink flights at each United hub, including Newark Liberty International Airport.
As of Thursday, United said nearly half of its Newark departures had Starlink, according to the tracker.
United said it created the tool in response to customer demand. The rollout is moving fast. According to United:
- Starlink is active on more than 635 mainline and United Express aircraft;
- The airline is installing it on about 20 planes a week and plans to finish by the end of 2027;
- More than 250,000 customers a day fly on Starlink-equipped planes, on more than 2,500 flights.
Since launch, United has flown more than 37.7 million passengers on Starlink-powered planes across more than 538,000 flights, connecting 14 million devices.
United said it has more Starlink-equipped planes than any other airline in the world.
Andrew Nocella, United’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said the Wi-Fi has become a selling point.
“Starlink gives customers even more reasons to choose United and keep coming back,” he said. “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.”
That offer is aimed squarely at rival airlines’ best customers.
The “Switch to Better Wi-Fi” campaign, launched Oct. 1, lets eligible Delta SkyMiles and American AAdvantage members earn United Premier status through January 2028. To qualify, they must meet spending requirements and take a United or United Express flight within 90 days:
- Premier Silver: $1,500
- Premier Gold: $3,000
- Premier Platinum: $4,500
- Premier 1K: $7,000
United said status match applications are running 275% above pre-campaign levels. New York City was the top market for sign-ups, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Chicago.
Because of the demand, United has extended the offer by a week, to Oct. 22. Details are at www.united.com/switchtobetterwifi.
