While United Airlines isn’t rolling out a ‘music dance’ in-flight experience, it’s sort of doing the next best thing. Thanks to a fresh partnership with Apple TV+ – one of the best streaming services around – you’ll be able to watch Severance, among other shows, while flying at 30,000 or so feet.
Joining the ever-expanding in-flight entertainment experience on United Airlines aircraft is a quartet of Apple TV+ Originals, and that number will grow again next month, in September. At launch, you can access episodes from the first season of Severance, Shrinking, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses and Silo on the screen in front of your chair or via the United app while in-flight.
Next month, September of 2025, United will add the first season of The Morning Show and Bad Sisters. United operates a broad range of aircraft and somewhere around 130,000 screens built into backs of seats. Even though that’s a massive number and newer aircraft will expand that, it’s nice to see United also offer this fresh Apple TV+ content via the app.
Folks potentially traveling on planes without screens but with Wi-Fi connectivity will have the same access to the library of content. While this isn’t the first time that Apple TV+ has taken to the sky – some of its originals are available on American Airlines and Air Canada – the addition is a big deal for United Airlines, and it’s the first time full seasons from the service have been made available. Frequent flyers of United will appreciate that.
The airline has promised to add new episodes and expand to other shows, movies, and documentaries on a monthly basis. The Apple TV+ originals join an array of other content and even access to popular podcasts, audiobooks, and playlists available on Spotify.
Adding shows like Severance makes a heck of a lot of sense, though, as Apple TV+ is having an incredibly strong year and the streaming service has secured a record 81 Emmy Award nominations. So if you haven’t yet seen Severance and have a few hours you need to fill while on a United flight, you can now binge the first season – or rewatch it – from the comfort of your seat.
It’ll be interesting to see if United Airlines can strike a similar deal with any other streaming services or if other airlines opt to add Apple TV+. Recently, Delta Airlines announced a collaboration with Crunchyroll to stream select anime while in-flight.
This expansion for United Airlines comes at a time with a heavier focus on the in-flight experience – the airline is also in the process of installing Starlink-powered, faster, and completely free Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members aboard its airplanes. It’s a longer rollout, but the promise is much faster speeds, allowing passengers to stream their own content, and further improvements to the in-flight experience.
We’re still waiting to see the entire vision for the latter, but the expansion to include popular Apple TV+ originals is certainly a step in the right direction. At the minimum, you innie will appreciate the expansion and your outtie will like the destination … or vice versa.