In what was a first for me, I experienced a “flight to nowhere” on Monday…on United Airlines. But unlike most fights to nowhere, this was one was a deliberate two-hour journey from LAX to LAX to showcase Starlink high-speed internet onboard.
My United Airlines Starlink Flight To Nowhere
United Airlines hosted a big media day on Tuesday inside its main hangar at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). I’ve written a lot of United stories this week and there is more to come…including aircraft tours of the new 787-9 and CRJ450. As part of the event, United invited journalists, influencers, and wherever I fall on that spectrum on a two-hour demonstration flight of the Starlink Wi-Fi, which will be rolled out across the entire mainline and express fleet by the end of 2027.
I don’t fly much United Express these days and have only been on one Starlink flight, a short 110-mile hop from Los Angeles to Palm Springs (PSP), so this was my first mainline Starlink flight. The flight would be operated by a 737-900.
At around 2:45 pm, I arrived in Terminal 7 at LAX, where there was a special check-in desk for my flight. Interestingly, the boarding pass said the flight was from LAX to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California (SNA), probably becuase UA’s system does not allow a flight coding with the same departure and arrival airport.
I arrived earlier than normal not sure of what kind of TSA lines to expect, but there was no line…no wait at all and both TSA PreCheck and Touchless ID were available.
The gate area was festooned with balloon and light refreshments were available. We heard remarks from David Terry (United’s Managing Director of LAX), David Kinzelman (United’s Chief Customer Officer), and Grant Milstead (United’s VP of Digital Technology).
Boarding began at 3:20 pm.
United Airlines 3776
Los Angeles (LAX) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Monday, March 23
Depart: 4:00 PM
Arrive: 6:o0 PM
Duration: 2hr, 00min
Aircraft: Boeing 737-900
Distance: 0 miles
Seat: 25F (Economy Class)
I took my seat in 25F, a window seat toward the rear of the plane. I could have taken an aisle seat in Economy Plus (extra legroom) in row eight, but wanted a window seat on the starboard side so I could see the LA skyline as we returned to LAX.
After boarding was complete, the purser announced we would be circling the Golden Gate Bridge, though we did not quite make it up that far.
The seatback monitor initially indicated a destination of San Francisco, but then updated to Los Angeles:
I spent the flight talking to my seatmate…we had a lovely conversation about travel. I only got up once during the flight, but I did get to test the Wi-Fi speed before we even pushed back and the speeds were simply fabulous…it’s such a game-changer in terms of in-flight connectivity. I even made a phone call (thankfully this will not be allowed generally, but we were given permission on this flight and it worked flawlessly).
Flight attendants were charming and offered snacks (the usual pretzel mix, stroopwafels, and quinoa chocolate) and beverages.
And just like that, we were on final approach to Los Angeles…it was an uncharacteristically smoggy day in LA.
CONCLUSION
This was a fun flight in which the demonstration of Starlink worked flawlessly…everyone connected and the speeds were excellent.
As interesting as it to wonder what in next in terms of inflight Wi-Fi (gigabit and beyond?) Starlink is a game-changer and finally brings true high-speed wi-fi to the skies. I can’t wait for more aircraft to be equipped with this technology.
Have you flown on a United flight equipped with Starlink internet?
> Read More: My Impressive First Starlink Internet Flight On United Airlines
I recently had the pleasure of flying round-trip SFO – SJD (Cabo) on 737-800’s, both equipped with StarLink. The WiFi speed was incredible from the beginning to the end of each flight. I watched several shows on Netflix while doing email work at the same time.
I look forward to the entire fleet being equipped with StarLink.
Mission accomplished.
Now, if only United would provide free WiFi on all their aircraft, because most still have the $8/800 points paid version…
Well said.
Let’s add that, as of March 27, 2026, UA has 12 B737-900 in its fleet with an average age of 24.6 years.
I had the pleasure flying LAX-LAS on UA Express (E175) mid Feb and the speed of StarLink was amazing:
Download up to 400Mbps
Upload 40Mbps.
This was a game change coming from a LH where internet sucks…
A service offering 400 Mbps download and 40 Mbps upload speeds is absolutely amazing.
Too bad you couldn’t catch a loop around the Golden Gate after all. And so much for an ‘immaculate’ view of the LA skyline on the return approach ! Just curious if any alcohol was flowing from the beverage/snack cart as well ?
Looks like an easy minimum day for the F/A’s, though with a guaranteed bonus of no obnoxious pax !
But I wonder how much this excurion cost UA, especially now with the outrageous fuel $$ increases, and adding a cycle of non-productive revenue/hours/wear & tear on the aircraft… It seems a bit over- the-top to just showcase Starlink…. Maybe Elon subsidized the ‘junket’ !
I’m a bit surprised that Elon wasn’t there. I was a big fan of pre-X Elon Musk. Still am, but his current person isn’t someone I support.
Appreciate your site and most insights Mat, thank you.
However, during the last few weeks I’ve mostly been reading ‘Live United Airlines and let’s fly United Airlines’. In other words, the vast majority of the items is related to UA.
Please take this into consideration.
Thank you.
Ok, first, I no longer fly United since they determined I’d have to have a paid credit card or a free one with massive spending to get the rewards I used to get. United is doing some media promotion now, should Matthew ignore it? Gees, you follow the news, butthead.
It just comes to mind to actually read what I wrote.
It’s not about this specific news article, there’s more than just UA. I know United has a special place within Matthews’ life, however there’s a whole lot more news to write about than three out of four articles about UA.
And thanks for the nice salutation, have a great weekend too.
@Well done – UA made the most news this week and I’ve still got more to cover from the event, a lot of it unique and not repeated elsewhere. I’ll write about AA considering setback screens today, but that is something Gary and Ben have already written about. Some stories we are all going to cover, but I try to provide unique content as well and when that skews towards UA, so be it.
Thanks Matthew.
It is an opinion from the other side of the ocean.
I appreciate your site, thanks again.
Have a wonderful weekend.
@WorldFreak: When stupid idiots were created you were first in line.
Thanks mate, very kind. I’ll take that as a compliment.
Have a wonderful weekend.
It’s nothing new, but the smog in L.A. is worrying…
I’ve used Starlink over the vast Pacific several times on HA and the speeds are just as great as what you experienced flying along the CA coast. You will enjoy it.
Let’s recall that Starlink internet is now available on all HA A330 and A321neo jetliners, offering guests easy access to high-speed Wi-Fi on flights between Hawaii and the Continental U.S. or International destinations, free of charge.
you’re never had a flight to nowhere? surprised. I’ve had one. SFO-SFO. But no go-arounds, rejected, or fire trucks thankfully!
Fly phx iad this week and my flight had starlink. Streamed opening day with no lag. Game changing wifi for United
Thrre are so many things more important to me than fast wifi on planes. Then again, I’m gainfully unemployed.
If you’ve had a flight to EWR, you’ve had a flight to nowhere.