United’s Starlink-powered Wi-Fi is the end of airplane mode

Say goodbye to one of the last work-free zones.

Last Thursday, I boarded one of the first United Airlines planes to be equipped with Starlink's satellite Wi-Fi. As expected, the Wi-Fi was very fast and left me wondering whether this will herald the end of spotty in-flight Wi-Fi, expensive connectivity fees, or even the quaint notion that we can avoid work altogether while cruising at 30,000 feet in the air.

The test plane was an Embraer E-175, a narrow-body aircraft for regional flights that can fit up to 88 passengers.