United Airlines has signed a partnership with SpaceX subsidiary Starlink to provide a free onboard WiFi service on its mainline and regional aircraft fleet.

The airline said it expects to deploy the service on more than 1,000 of its aircraft over the next few years.

It will carry out testing early next year, while United anticipates the service will go live on its first passenger flights later in 2025.

"Everything you can do on the ground, you'll soon be able to do onboard a United plane at 35,000 ft, just about anywhere in the world," said United CEO Scott Kirby.

"This connectivity opens the door for an even better inflight entertainment experience, in every seatback – more content, that's more personalized. United's culture of innovation is, once again, delivering big for our customers."

Starlink has previously signed a similar in-flight connectivity deal with Hawaiian Airlines.

The service launched earlier this year after delays prevented it from going ahead as planned last year.

Starlink, which is a subsidiary of SpaceX, uses a low-profile electronically steerable antenna.

A number of other airlines including airBaltic, Zipair Tokyo, and JSX, have also chosen Starlink Aviation. JSX’s entire Embraer ERJ fleet is already fitted with the system.

SpaceX's agreement with private plane provider JSX covers service on up to 100 airplanes; JSX currently has 77 30-seat Embraer jets in its fleet.

Another US airline carrier, Delta Air Lines, selected Hughes Network Systems to provide its own in-flight WiFi service.