Executives said Thursday that United Airlines has “solved” the issue, which led operators to shut down a brand new Starlink Wi-Fi system on regional jets last month.
This is good news for passengers looking to use their fastest in-flight internet, which is free for MileagePlus members.
In early June, TPG first reported that the Chicago-based airline had to disable its star-stripe link service as pilots reported static interference from the channels they used to communicate with air traffic control. This problem occurs when some Union Express some are to get Wi-Fi upgrades.
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It’s an ambitious hurdle to ambitious high-tech internet services, and Manchester United accelerated the timeline.
United executives shared three encouraging updates on Thursday.
Manchester United chief operating officer Toby Enqvist said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call that the first update was that the issue was “almost solved”.
Second: Manchester United won’t experience similar delays on its larger aircraft.
The problem is that the antennas used by Starlink and Flight decks are too close to smaller area jets, which is the first to get new service.
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“They are surrounding that…we think this problem is behind us,” Enkwester added. “And, for other fleet types, we won’t have problems because we’re wearing much larger planes.”
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Ultimately, Manchester United announced that 60 aircraft are currently using the new Starlink service. So if you are taking the regional flight of United Express, your chances are constantly getting better and you can access fast and free connections.
I tried the Starlink service on a special media flight in May and found it high enough to do anything I need to run, from playing sports games to watching YouTube videos to working (including all at the same time).
United said it will update its entire fleet with a new service, accelerating a wave of spinning to higher caliber (and free) communications for airlines.
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