United Airlines has confirmed that in-flight Starlink Wi-Fi service is back to normal after a technical glitch forced a temporary shutdown on some aircraft.
The connectivity issue, first reported last month, was traced to static interference. During an earnings call, United Airlines’ Chief Operating Officer, Toby Enqvist, said the problem has been “pretty much resolved.”
The disruption affected the airline’s smaller Embraer E175 passenger jets. According to Enqvist, the root cause came down to proximity: the Starlink antenna was installed too close to a separate antenna used by pilots for critical radio communications with air traffic control.
“The two antennas were too close together. So they worked around that,” Enqvist said, indicating the fix involved repositioning the satellite equipment on the affected aircraft.
United does not expect the interference to affect the rest of its fleet. Larger aircraft have more space to ensure Starlink dishes are mounted a safe distance from other sensitive communication antennas, preventing similar signal conflicts.
The rollout of SpaceX’s satellite internet service is continuing across United’s fleet. Enqvist confirmed Starlink is now installed on sixty jets. Early testing has been favorable: during a trial in May the satellite connection delivered strong performance, with average download speeds approaching 100 Mbps.
For the time being, United is offering Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi free to members of its MileagePlus frequent flyer program, although access requires viewers to watch a number of advertisements.
Although United has announced plans to equip its entire fleet with Starlink connectivity, the airline has not provided a definitive timeline for completing the upgrade. Passengers should check availability for their specific flights as the installation program progresses.
(Photo by David Syphers)
See also: SpaceX teases Starlink Gen3 satellites for Terabit internet speeds
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