01:43 PM EDT, 09/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- United Airlines' (UAL) plan to retrofit more than 1,000 planes with Starlink and offer Wi-Fi for free almost doubled SpaceX's backlog of Starlink in-flight orders to over 2,500 aircraft, CNBC reported Tuesday, citing Nick Galano, SpaceX director of Starlink aviation sales and partnerships at a conference in Paris.

This deal is expected to replace United's current Wi-Fi providers, Viasat ( VSAT ) , Panasonic, Thales, and Gogo Business Aviation (GOGO), over the coming years, CNBC said.

SpaceX is also working to streamline the installation process for new antennas on aircraft, aiming to reduce the retrofitting time to under a day, the report said.

United and SpaceX didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from MT Newswires.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.

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