United Airlines Taps Starlink for Free In-Flight Wi-Fi (msn.com) 29
United Airlines said that it will outfit its entire fleet with Starlink internet service, aiming to keep fliers loyal by offering zippier, more reliable browsing and downloads that the carrier expects will mirror what travelers are used to on the ground. From a report: United's deal is a bet that Starlink's technology can propel it above rival carriers in offering fast, free Wi-Fi. The airline is in the midst of a broader effort to burnish its premium and business travel bona fides, which has included retrofitting planes with lots of power outlets and seat back screens.
The airline said it would begin testing the Starlink service early next year, with the first passenger flights likely equipped later in 2025. United said Starlink's service will be more reliable, particularly over oceans and other remote areas -- a key advantage for the airline's network of long-haul international flights that cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It will allow passengers to access live TV and streaming, and to use several devices at once.
The airline said it would begin testing the Starlink service early next year, with the first passenger flights likely equipped later in 2025. United said Starlink's service will be more reliable, particularly over oceans and other remote areas -- a key advantage for the airline's network of long-haul international flights that cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It will allow passengers to access live TV and streaming, and to use several devices at once.
No thanks (Score:5, Interesting)
So, to get fast reliable wifi, I need to put up with United customer service?
No thanks. I'll read a book while flying on another airline.
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For about 60 seconds anyway.
Re: No thanks (Score:2)
Re: No thanks (Score:5, Funny)
For a while, apartments around here had huge painted signs outside saying "FREE WIFI".
The urge to get some black paint and change the final I to an E was pretty strong.
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No, it's called "you have a stick up your ass". Please resolve your own problem and stop bothering others with it.
Re: No thanks (Score:1)
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You have obviously never flown on American Airlines.....
You've clearly never flown on Lufthansa, I'll take any of the American carriers over them any day of the week.
There's a reason they're called the Luftwaffe, they make the worst American customer service look good.
"...and to use several devices at once." (Score:2)
Please no.... (Score:2)
... don't let the arsehole next to me do a video call. And you know they'll do it without headphones too.
And of course, on a long haul international flight, they'll do it when you're trying to sleep too.
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... don't let the arsehole next to me do a video call. And you know they'll do it without headphones too.
And of course, on a long haul international flight, they'll do it when you're trying to sleep too.
I'm genuinely curious what kind of a world you people live in. I've heard this complain all the time on this site (which is predominantly American). The idea of someone chatting loudly on the phone, or talking in the cinema, or on a flight (you have been able to make phone calls on flights for 25 years now) is so foreign to me.
Are you literally a country of arseholes who weren't taught how to behave? It seems at odds with every time I've visited America where people were in general nice and courteous. Is it
Re: Please no.... (Score:1)
Generally no, but those few who scream "my rights! 'Murica!" tend to do it way louder than the polite ones with restraint and self-control.
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Likewise, I'm genuinely curious what kind of world you live in? Do you not walk around amongst people, go to restaurants, take public transport, travel overseas? I travel a lot (will be five continents this year), and I see problems with mobile phone usage everywhere. I haven't been to Japan for a while, but I suspect that might be the last hold-out to poor behaviour. Unfortunately swathes of shitty parents are teaching a new generation that i
Look out! Wifi! (Score:3)
And to think - just a few years ago using any kind of wifi was likely to bring down a jet.
Technology marches on!
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that was an game boy at some point?
they had dial up email at some point on the $10/min phones.
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Apparently it dates back to the 1950s when transistor radios first became available. People tried them out on aircraft and found that they could interfere with the aircraft's radio systems. While transistor radios are receive only, having an oscillator on the same or close frequency can cause problems.
In the early 90s the FTC decided to ban using mobile phones, not because they were worried about safety, but because they thought that hundreds of phones rapidly moving between cells could cause the network to
Profit (Score:2)
Ohhh, so the profits you'll get from more customers paying for WiFi will allow you to increase seat sizes and let us bring carry-on bags for free, right? Riiiiiiiggght.
Re: Profit (Score:2)
Re: Profit (Score:2)
No seat back screens, please... (Score:2)
They are bright and disturb sleep and the driver boxes take up legroom. They also are a tempting channel for ads, which I hate. If you're offering power and wifi, I can get everything I need on my laptop/phone/tablet.
Re: No seat back screens, please... (Score:2)
Re: No seat back screens, please... (Score:2)
Re: No seat back screens, please... (Score:1)