SpaceX Starlink has secured 2,500 airplanes under a United megadeal, according to the company's director.

• Last week's United Airlines deal helped SpaceX almost double its Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi orders, a company official stated on Tuesday.
• Over 1,000 United planes will be retrofitted with Starlink and provide free Wi-Fi, as announced last week.
• Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways are among the airlines that have partnered with Starlink to provide in-flight Wi-Fi services.

Last week's deal nearly doubled SpaceX's backlog of Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi orders, a company director stated on Tuesday.

Nick Galano, SpaceX director of Starlink aviation sales and partnerships, expressed excitement about the company's 2,500 aircraft under contract, which he believes will make SpaceX's experience grow and resonate with passengers and airlines worldwide.

Elon Musk's space company's satellite internet arm is entering the in-flight connectivity market, with United Airlines announcing last week that it will equip over 1,000 planes with Starlink and offer free Wi-Fi to customers.

Starlink's latest IFC agreement with United Airlines is its largest to date, and it will replace the airline's current quartet of WiFi providers, including , Panasonic, Thales, and , as Starlink is installed on the airline's planes in the coming years.

Qatar Airways, Japan's Zipair, Latvia's airBaltic, and semi-private charter airline JSX are among the airlines that have previously announced in-flight deals with SpaceX and have started service with the company.

Since its launch in 2020, SpaceX has consistently grown its Starlink network and product line. Initially aimed at consumers, the company has since expanded into various markets, including enterprise services like aviation and maritime.

According to the company, more than 3 million customers in 100 countries are currently connected through the 6,400 Starlink satellites in orbit.

Starlink's capacity is "probably over 100 times what all the legacy systems have provided" due to "over 300 terabits per second worth of capacity today," according to Galano.

SpaceX is consistently increasing its capacity, with an average of approximately three rocket launches per day this year, each carrying new Starlink satellites, as stated by the company.

SpaceX is working to shorten the time it takes to retrofit new antennas on aircraft, which is a time-consuming process that takes aircraft out of service for days at a time.

Galano stated that they are striving to streamline installations, utilizing the term "innovation," in order to complete them within a day, as demonstrated on Hawaiian's and JSX's fleets.

According to Glenn Latta, Delta's managing director of in-flight entertainment and connectivity, the airline's IFC retrofits take "on average about three days." However, Latta stated that Delta's process, which involves retrofitting 1,200 aircraft, is more intensive compared to Starlink's installation on Hawaiian's fleet, which stood at 66 aircraft in mid-2024, according to a securities filing.

"Removing the existing system is necessary for us to proceed with the installation," Latta stated after the conference panel. "One of the differences to consider is that [Hawaiian] has never had a satcom system."

Delta, which uses Viasat for in-flight service, announced that it would offer free WiFi to its members in early 2023. This decision has proven to be beneficial to the airline, according to Latta. Both Delta and United are competing for high-end customers.

Latta stated that our loyalty program has gained 3 million new members through the offer of free internet access.

— CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this article.