United’s first regional jet is now fitted with the Starlink inflight internet service. It is the first of more than 1,000 planes the airline plans to fit with the new satellite-based service, including its full regional jet fleet before the end of 2025.
The first aircraft installed is N127SY, an E175 operated by SkyWest. The work appears to have been completed in Nashville; Embraer maintains a major maintenance facility at that airport. It has not returned to service since the install; typically the certification process requires about 30 days, so it should be available near the end of March. The aircraft returned to service over the weekend (apparently the 30-day cert work started earlier).
Our ability to roll-out this innovative service with unprecedented speed and scale is a direct result of the advanced equipment, technology and team of experts at United.
– United’s VP of Digital Technology, Grant Milstead
United highlights the quick installation time for the Starlink system – about 8 hours “excluding any de-installation of existing equipment, testing or aircraft modification” – as an advantage in bringing the new service online. This is in line with what Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways have shown for installation timing. United is giving itself a cushion, however, allowing for a four day sit on each aircraft conversion. The extra time covers removal of legacy hardware and testing (though the video does not show the side antennae removed). Notably, Qatar Airways did not seem to need that extra time for its conversions.
The carrier targets a deployment pace of 40+ per month from May 2025 through the end of the year. That is necessary to complete the RJ migration before the legacy network deactivates at the end of 2025. United also expects its first mainline aircraft to be flying with Starlink before the end of the year.
United also called out the low weight of the Starlink solution, at 85 pounds fully deployed. Most other mechanical antenna solutions come in closer to 200 pounds or more, though there are debates around the aerodynamic impact of the different terminal designs and the fuel burn impact they have.
Finally, United confirms expected speeds of 250 Mbps to the aircraft. This is in line with the previously promised Starlink performance, and more realistic than the 500 Mbps airBaltic has claimed for its installations.
There is one questionable claim in United’s release: “Weather on the ground doesn’t hinder connectivity thanks to a weather-proofed inter-satellite laser link technology that allows satellites to communicate to each other and the ground reliably.” The link between the aircraft and the satellites would still be susceptible to the “rain fade” effect in the Ku-band. This is amplified by the flat panel surface on the aircraft’s potential to accumulate rain rather than drain it off.
The satellite links (ISLs) are in space, so weather is not a factor there. And the links from the satellites back to ground stations are in Ka-band, which is more susceptible to weather-related issues. Newer Starlink satellites can route to an alternate ground station via the ISLs, assuming capacity is available. It is an interesting factoid to bring up, for sure.
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