United’s Starlink-powered Wi-Fi is the end of airplane mode
Last Thursday, I boarded one of the first United Airlines planes to be equipped with Starlink's satellite Wi-Fi. As expected, the Wi-Fi was very fast and left me wondering whether this will herald the end of spotty in-flight Wi-Fi, expensive connectivity fees, or even the quaint notion that we can avoid work altogether while cruising at 30,000 feet in the air.
The test plane was an Embraer E-175, a narrow-body aircraft for regional flights that can fit up to 88 passengers. The flight was short, only about 90 minutes, taking off and landing from the same gate at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Still, the mood was festive, with several of United's top executives donning aprons to serve the passengers first-class snack boxes and plastic cups of Champagne.
It used to be that airlines would tell passengers to switch their phones to airplane mode before taking off for "safety reasons." Now, United is encouraging its customers to browse, stream, and game to their heart's content thanks to a new partnership with SpaceX's Starlink.
Last year, United became the first of the big three domestic airlines to announce its plan to add Starlink-powered Wi-Fi to its fleet, with the first commercial …