United Airlines has becomes the first carrier to offer Spotify audiobooks and video podcasts, now available to stream for free across the entire fleet. Olivia Palamountain reports

United Airlines has become the first airline to offer Spotify's audiobooks and video podcasts onboard, launching a collaboration that provides more than 450 hours of free content across its fleet of 680+ aircraft.

The partnership introduces more than 65 pieces of content to United's 130,000+ seatback screens, including titles such as Good Hang with Amy Poehler, The Dave Chang Show, and The Comment Section with Drew Afualo.  Many of the screens offer 4K quality and Bluetooth audio compatibility.

From 2026, United passengers will be able to use their personal devices to log into the Spotify app on inflight entertainment screens, allowing them to continue listening to personalised content from where they left off.

Richard Nunn, CEO of MileagePlus, says: "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. 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 content appears as a new "Spotify" category on seatback screens, replacing the previous "Audio" section under the home menu. This includes channels for podcasts, video podcasts, audiobooks and playlists, with a dedicated Spotify featured channel planned for most aircraft in coming months.

Ian Geller, VP of business development at Spotify, says: "As a frequent United flyer myself, it's incredibly exciting to see Spotify now available on the world's largest airline. At Spotify, we're dedicated to being everywhere our users are, giving creators opportunities to reach new platforms and engage different audiences. I'm especially looking forward to bringing an even more personalised app streaming experience to seatbacks next year."

On Starlink-equipped aircraft, travellers can stream Spotify content on personal devices from gate-to-gate by logging into their MileagePlus account and accepting terms and conditions for using Starlink.

The partnership extends beyond inflight entertainment, with MileagePlus members new to Spotify Premium Individual able to earn up to 1,000 bonus miles when signing up for a subscription.

Spotify is also working with United's Kinective Media network to promote the offer across United's owned media channels, including inflight screens, the United app and United Club displays.