Spotify just took its streaming game sky-high. Starting this week, United Airlines passengers will have access to over 450 hours of curated Spotify content—including playlists, audiobooks, and for the first time ever, video podcasts—right from their seatback screens, according to CNBC. This marks Spotify’s first-ever partnership with an airline. Available titles include fan-favorite shows like “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” “The Dave Chang Show,” and “The Comment Section with Drew Afualo,” per The Verge reports.
“The collaboration brings the Spotify experience fans know and love to the skies, so passengers can stream their favorite playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks on United flights,” the streaming giant said in a statement.
The integration spans more than 130,000 seatback screens across United’s fleet. You won’t even need a Spotify account to access the content—just tap and go.
“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, CEO of MileagePlus, said in a statement. “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.”
The new partnership replaces the generic “Audio” tab on United’s inflight entertainment menu with a dedicated “Spotify” category. The update is part of United’s broader push to modernize its onboard tech—including offering free high-speed Wi-Fi, powered by SpaceX’s Starlink, which launched last year.
If you’re a MileagePlus member, you can already stream Spotify (along with Apple Music and YouTube) for free on your phone mid-flight. But by 2026, passengers will also be able to use their phones to control the seatback Spotify app directly—no more awkward remote controls or digging for your tablet.
Streaming isn’t limited to cruising altitude either. Whether you’re taxiing to the runway or waiting at the gate, you’ll be able to kick back and queue up your favorite playlists without even reaching into your bag.
This move comes as airlines race to upgrade digital experiences for a new generation of flyers—especially those who expect their entertainment to be as seamless at 35,000 feet as it is on the ground.
