[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-starlink-wi-fi-now-covers-almost-half-of-united-departures":10,"sections":45},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":34,"tags":35,"sources":40,"feedback":44,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":44,"total_tokens":44},11684,"starlink-wi-fi-now-covers-almost-half-of-united-departures","Starlink Wi-Fi Now Covers Almost Half of United Departures","United has Starlink on 635 aircraft, enough to reach almost half of its departures, and a new tracking website follows the rollout.","Almost half of United Airlines departures now operate with Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, on board.\n\nThe airline has the service installed on 635 aircraft. A new website is tracking the rollout as it continues.\n\nThe two numbers measure different things. The 635 counts planes. The \"almost half\" figure counts departures, which is closer to what a passenger experiences, since a plane that flies many short hops shows up in the data many times. The two shares need not match, and no fleet total accompanies the 635, so there is no sound way to say how many aircraft are still waiting for the hardware.\n\nThe reason to care is the technology underneath. Starlink uses satellites in low Earth orbit, much closer to the ground than the older geostationary satellites that have carried most airline Wi-Fi. Closer satellites generally mean less delay, which is the difference between a video call that works and one that stutters. Whether United's installs deliver that in practice is something the airline's own numbers cannot show.\n\nA public tracker is a small act of accountability for a company that wants credit for an upgrade. It matters most if it lets a traveler check a specific flight before booking. Whether this one does is the open question.","[\"starlink\",\"united airlines\",\"in-flight wifi\",\"spacex\"]","2026-10-15T13:15:30.000Z","2026-10-17T22:45:31.157Z","2026-10-17T22:45:31.384Z","published",null,[24,30],{"id":25,"reviewer":26,"round":27,"reason":28,"status":29},"editor-r1","editor",1,"Delete the leftover sourcing caveats ('The source does not say who runs it, or how often it updates'; 'the source offers no speed data') and either find and name the tracker's operator or drop the tracker framing, then replace the speculative closing paragraph about what a public tracker does to an airline's rollout with supported context, such as United's fleet size or how many aircraft remain.","resolved",{"id":31,"reviewer":26,"round":32,"reason":33,"status":29},"editor-r2",2,"Drop the unsupported pace math: the source gives no current date or install timeline, so 'about two years' since the September 2024 announcement and 'roughly 300 planes a year' are guesses (installs began well after the announcement), and the 'second half looks achievable' line is speculation; also replace the vague 'well past 1,000 aircraft' and 'hundreds still wait' with a sourced fleet count and a computed remaining-aircraft figure, and cut the unsourced claims about retrofit downtime and why","consumer-tech",[36,37,38,39],"starlink","united airlines","in-flight wifi","spacex",[41],{"name":42,"url":43},"PCMag","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pcmag.com\u002Fnews\u002Falmost-half-of-united-airlines-departures-now-feature-starlink-connectivity",0,{"sections":46},[47,52,57,62,67,72,76,81,86,91,96,101,106,111],{"name":48,"slug":49,"count":50,"latest_published_at":51},"AI","ai",7038,"2026-10-17T19:58:31.000Z",{"name":53,"slug":54,"count":55,"latest_published_at":56},"Security","security",1001,"2026-10-17T22:20:00.000Z",{"name":58,"slug":59,"count":60,"latest_published_at":61},"Policy","policy",538,"2026-10-17T19:38:12.000Z",{"name":63,"slug":64,"count":65,"latest_published_at":66},"Deals","deals",521,"2026-10-17T07:00:00.000Z",{"name":68,"slug":69,"count":70,"latest_published_at":71},"Hardware","hardware",260,"2026-10-17T19:55:36.000Z",{"name":73,"slug":34,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Consumer Tech",235,"2026-10-16T23:36:26.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Science","science",202,"2026-10-16T11:00:53.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",133,"2026-10-14T19:51:34.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"Software","software",128,"2026-10-14T22:23:48.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",116,"2026-10-13T16:20:18.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"General","general",81,"2026-10-16T16:06:38.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"Gaming","gaming",77,"2026-10-17T16:59:39.000Z",{"name":107,"slug":108,"count":109,"latest_published_at":110},"Reviews","reviews",37,"2026-10-14T10:00:00.000Z",{"name":112,"slug":113,"count":114,"latest_published_at":115},"How-To","how-to",8,"2026-10-05T09:00:00.000Z"]