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United Airlines Collaborates With DISH to Enhance Inflight Experience

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Key Takeaways

  • United Airlines will offer live pro and college football on Starlink-enabled seatback screens.
  • Live broadcasts from major networks will be available on more than 200 Starlink-equipped aircraft.
  • UAL says Starlink is active on 560 aircraft, with installations expected before the end of 2027.

In a bid to widen its popularity in terms of services, United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL - Free Report) has inked a deal with DISH -- aimed at offering live streaming of content to onboard passengers by using DISH's OnStream platform with United Airlines' Starlink connectivity. This move is expected to enhance customers’ inflight entertainment experience.

Beginning this week, United Airlines customers can enjoy live professional and college football games through their Starlink-enabled seatback screen on domestic flights. Starlink is the fastest and most reliable Wi-Fi in the sky, and UAL is installing Starlink at a rapid rate. Live broadcasts from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, FS1, ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Network and TNF on Prime Video will be available on more than 200 Starlink-equipped airplanes.

Starlink is free for MileagePlus members in every class of service, and UAL anticipates completing installations before the end of 2027. Starlink is now active on more than 560 United mainline and United Express aircraft. United Airlines has already flown more than 31 million passengers on Starlink-powered aircraft across more than 464,000 flights, powering 14.2 million devices.

UAL’s prior moves of using Starlink connectivity in flights include its partnership with ESPN to host a first-of-its-kind live Fantasy Football Draft from 30,000 feet and onboard streaming of the biggest soccer tournament in the world through Starlink-powered domestic flights.

This new entertainment agreement comes on the back of UAL’s practice of supporting professional football, which it has been doing in the form of sponsoring nine professional football teams in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Washington, D.C., Denver, Kansas City, Cleveland and Nashville and operating more than 200 team charter flights for 11 teams this season.

Andrew Nocella, UAL’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, stated, "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. 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."

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

United Airlines carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector may consider Seanergy Maritime Holdings (SHIP - Free Report) and Schneider National, Inc. (SNDR - Free Report) .

Seanergy Maritime Holdings currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

SHIP has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The company has an encouraging earnings surprise history. Its earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 38%.

Schneider carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Schneider has an expected earnings growth rate of 65.08% for the current year.  Schneider’s earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters (missed the mark in the remaining two quarters), delivering an average miss of 10.01%. The consensus mark for Schneider’s full-year earnings has moved 14.29% north in the past 60 days.

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