United Airlines teams up with Spotify to provide free inflight content to passengers
Flights aboard United Airlines are about to get more interesting thanks to a new partnership with Spotify that will offer passengers more than 450 hours of free content.
Going forward, United passengers will be able to listen to dozens of audiobooks and video podcasts, marking the first time Spotify has offered these products on an airline. These include popular podcasts like "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" and "The Dave Chang Show," United shared with TPG.
"Spotify has a huge audience and people love their content. And now our customers can enjoy it all in a simple and easy way, at 35,000 feet," Richard Nunn, the CEO of United MileagePlus, said in a statement shared with TPG. "Together, we're giving millions of customers an entirely new way to experience and explore premium content from the world's most popular artists, authors and podcasters — all while flying with the latest technology in the sky."
To start, Spotify will be available via the seatback screens on more than 680 of United's aircraft. Travelers flying on Starlink-equipped aircraft (which the airline started rolling out last month) will also be able to stream Spotify from their personal devices by logging into their MileagePlus accounts.
On seatback screens, the streaming service will replace the "audio" category under the home menu and will include options for podcasts, video podcasts, audiobooks and playlists. United said the majority of its aircraft would also receive a dedicated Spotify channel in the coming months.
In 2026, United plans to introduce a feature allowing passengers to use their personal devices to log into the Spotify app on the inflight entertainment screens.
Ian Geller, vice president of business development at Spotify, said the planned update would provide "an even more personalized app streaming experience to seatbacks next year."
To celebrate the new partnership, United is offering MileagePlus members who are new to Spotify's Premium Individual subscription the chance to sign up and earn up to 1,000 bonus miles. A Premium Individual subscription costs $11.99 per month.
The entertainment updates come on the heels of United's decision to add more seatback screens with 4K resolution, test out a new Control Tower view option through the inflight map and more.
Beyond United, Delta Air Lines has offered Spotify-curated playlists and select podcasts; however, the airline told TPG that the partnership will be coming to an end as the carrier introduces its ad-free streaming partnership with YouTube.
Related reading:
- United Airlines MileagePlus: Guide to earning and redeeming miles, elite status and more
- 4 credit cards that save you money on streaming subscriptions
- Why I'm excited about United and JetBlue's new partnership, and where there's room to grow
- A new way to cast your phone onto the seatback screen? It exists, but some airlines have concerns
- United is halfway done with cabin overhauls, battles rival Delta for best inflight tech
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