United Airlines and Spotify are teaming up to offer hundreds of hours of content on the seatback screen of hundreds of United aircraft.
Spotify Content Now Streaming On United Airlines Seatbacks
United has announced a unique collaboration with Spotify that brings hundreds of hours of curated content straight to your seatback screen. Whether you’re in the mood for Amy Poehler’s Good Hang, The Dave Chang Show, or just want to kick back with a classic Spotify playlist, it’s now all available at 35,000 feet on over 680 United aircraft…for free.
This partnership is a first for Spotify, marking the debut of its audiobooks and video podcasts onboard any airline. With more than 130,000 4K, Bluetooth-enabled screens across the United fleet, the airline is continuing to invest in delivering a solid in-flight entertainment experience.
Spotify will not be available on all screens like the older systems on many 737 jets that only have DirecTV and looping video.
On Starlink-equipped aircraft, travelers can stream Spotify content on their personal devices from gate-to-gate without interruption.
What’s Included
- 450+ hours of Spotify content now available across the United fleet
- 65+ featured shows and playlists, with new titles expected over time
- Dedicated “Spotify” category on the IFE home screen, replacing “Audio”
Beginning in 2026, United passengers will also be able to log in to their personal Spotify accounts directly through the seatback screen, syncing playback and resuming playlists, podcasts, or audiobooks from where they left off.
Per Richard Nunn, CEO of MileagePlus:
“Spotify has a huge audience and people love their content. And now our customers can enjoy it all in a simple and easy way, at 35,000 feet. Together, we’re giving millions of customers an entirely new way to experience and explore premium content from the world’s most popular artists, authors and podcasters–all while flying with the latest technology in the sky.”
Ian Geller, VP of Business Development at Spotify, added, “As a frequent United flyer myself, it’s incredibly exciting to see Spotify now available on the world’s largest airline.”
Monetization For United
Spotify is also partnering with Kinective Media by United Airlines, the airline industry’s first traveler media network, which I outlined here, to share the offer with United customers throughout their travel journey. Travelers will see prompts to sign up for Spotify Premium and earn miles based on their MileagePlus status. These messages will be “served” across United’s owned and operated media channels, including inflight entertainment screens, the United app, United Club screens, email, and more.
Through this collaboration, United shows us how it hopes to pay for its United Next interior renewal program: through access to United’s more than 100 million MileagePlus members with personalized advertising, including when captive onboard.
MileagePlus members who are new to Spotify’s Premium Individual can sign up for a subscription and earn up to 1,000 bonus miles here.
My Thoughts
I’ve long been a fan of United’s seatback entertainment system, but I’ve also long noted there was a rather glaring hole when it came to audio. This partnership with Spotify is exciting because it begins to address that. This isn’t just stuffing a few random albums into the “audio” tab. Rather, United is giving Spotify an entire content ecosystem onboard, including video podcasts and audiobooks, and that could represent a major leap forward in how we experience IFE on United.
What I find most interesting is the future integration of personal Spotify accounts into the seatback experience. Being able to resume your favorite podcast or audiobook mid-flight, right where you left off on the ground? That’s a seamless tech experience airlines have talked about for years but have rarely been able to deliver. And the fact that this is launching on United, an airline that not too long ago didn’t even offer seatback screens on most domestic jets, is a remarkable turn.
CONCLUSION
United’s partnership with Spotify is more than a branding exercise, it’s a serious investment in next-gen inflight entertainment. With 450+ hours of curated content, personalized account integration coming in 2026, and a sleek new interface on 130,000+ screens, United is pushing the bounds of monetizing IFE in a way that may be a win-win for consumers and the bottom line.
We all know what “Mile High” refers to Mathew. There’s not a single editor in chief that wouldn’t return this article and tell you to change the title.
Oh yes. I needed this.
I don’t really get the point. Chances are you have already downloaded things from Spotify to listen to on your flight, and of course have access to your music library. I’ll download a podcast before my flight and listen to it on my phone, with my nice headphones. I suppose if you don’t have a paid account or none at all it might mean something, but why would you go through the ife to listen to something you could just do on your own device?
This is neat, but it also seems like it’s a technology that’s outdated before it even rolls out. Why would I need to log in to my Spotify account on my seatback screen when I could do it on my phone if I’m on an aircraft with Starlink. American has taken a lot of heat for not having seatback entertainment, but I actually think it’s the right call in the long run. If planes have ground quality wi-fi in the air, your seatback screen becomes redundant.