Copyright The Denver Post
Travelers aboard a United Airlines flight from Denver International Airport to Kansas City on Monday had access to the newly maximized in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity that United is heralding this month as a transformation of air travel. It was the first flight from DIA, United’s busiest hub, to offer the high-speed (up to 250 megabits per second) connectivity under a partnership with satellite-based Starlink. United officials trumpeted the service in a social media post as an opportunity to “stay connected from gate to gate on all your devices just like you’re at home,” which means “live sports, live gaming, even live watching your pet cam.” This fast Wi-Fi is offered at no cost for all travelers who enroll in United’s MileagePlus program. United is part of a push by most major airlines to infuse air travel with high-speed in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity, bolstering previous air-to-ground and satellite systems that often required paying a fee. The Starlink-equipped DIA flight (UA 586, a Boeing 737-800) on Monday left Denver at 1:31 p.m. for Kansas City, and was scheduled to return (as UA 1588) before flying to Oregon in the evening. Does faster Wi-Fi create an expectation that air travelers, once mostly idle up in the blue sky and clouds, will engage with the virtual world? “Customers can use, or not use, the internet as they wish. People who want to stay off-the-grid during a flight are more than welcome to do so,” United spokesman Russell Carlton said. Since May, United has equipped more than half of the company’s regional aircraft for Starlink, a SpaceX company. United officials said their entire mainline fleet will be equipped “over the next few years.” It’ll mean travelers can “shop,” ordering garments and groceries, in additon to watching live TV and streaming services. Passengers are informed of an inflight Wi-Fi policy before they’re connected. They’re told to use headphones while playing online games. Voice and video calls are prohibited under federal law. “We have not had any issues with voice and video calls,” Carlton said. United also asks passengers to change what they’re watching “if others may find the content you’re viewing offensive.” Flight attendants, he said, “are well-trained in de-escalation and handle in-flight situations.”
