United Airlines continues to drive innovation in the passenger experience, and with good reason. The U.S. major’s premium hard product push, its rollout of SpaceX Starlink, and adoption of seatback IFE across mainline aircraft are driving higher Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and helping ensure United doesn’t “devolve into commodity-like returns,” to quote CFO Mike Leskinen.
As it installs Starlink Wi-Fi across its entire fleet, the Star Alliance member has also cleverly capitalized on high-demand periods for live sports by inking agreements with distributors to bring popular channels to its Starlink-enabled seatback monitors.
During FIFA World Cup 2026, United piped in DIRECTV channels to Starlink-enabled seatbacks under a program supported by both Thales and Viasat. Now, under a new agreement between United and EchoStar-owned DISH, it’s bringing the 2026-27 season for U.S. live college and professional football to passengers aboard mainline aircraft flying domestic routes.
Using DISH’s OnStream aero platform, United is enabing guests to watch “live broadcasts from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, FS1, ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Network and TNF on Prime Video on more than 200 Starlink-equipped airplanes — about 700 of flights per day,” United says.
“The service will be available on domestic flights through the big game in February, and United expects to have Starlink on nearly 700 airplanes by then,” it adds, in apparent reference to Super Bowl Sunday, which is scheduled for February 14, 2027. ABC and ESPN hold broadcast rights for the game in the U.S.
Snappy, high-speed Internet, a smart TV and live television are a powerful combination whether offered in flight or in hospitality on the ground, as anyone who operates a short-term rental business can attest. And, when a guest is able to avail of live television channels without needing their own OTT subscription, the ‘surprise and delight’ opportunities grow exponentially.
“Starlink opens a whole new world of features and benefits for our customers, regardless of where they sit on the plane — now football fans don’t have to schedule their flights around game day,” says United executive vice president and CCO Andrew Nocella.
“Instead, they can watch their favorite team on seatback and also make changes to their fantasy roster, text or live chat with friends, or even stream different games on their phone, laptop or tablet, just like they would do at home.”
During Morgan Stanley’s 14th Annual Laguna Conference on September 16, United’s Leskinen shared color around the heightened expectations of today’s passengers, noting: “All of society is becoming more premium. This is not just an air travel experience. This is hotels, cruise lines, car service, etc. And we’re just jumping onto that trend.”
Even though fuel prices are spiking, he says, and United expects them to be “higher for longer” — and has cut some marginal routes as a result — demand for premium products is proving to be “incredibly resilient.”
“This is a industry that historically has kind of priced to the lowest common denominator, but the American consumer is becoming a lot more sophisticated, and they care about the quality of the product, the resiliency through irregular operations, whether you have Starlink or not, etc, and and the consumer has disposable income and wants to spend on experiences.”
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Featured image credited to Jason Rabinowitz
