这篇口述文章基于笔者与38岁、来自奥兰多的创业者肯尼·托滕的对话整理而成。为控制篇幅并提升可读性，内容经过适当编辑。过去14年来，我一直是达美航空SkyMiles计划的会员，其中最近7年更是保持着该计划的最高会员等级——钻石级会员身份。作为达美航空的忠实拥趸，得知公司放弃了与Starlink的合作机会，实在令我倍感遗憾。
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kenny Totten, a 38-year-old founder based in Orlando. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I've been a Delta SkyMiles member for the last 14 years, and I've had Delta's Diamond Medallion status — their highest loyalty tier — for the past seven years. As a Delta loyalist, there was nothing sadder than the news that they passed up Starlink.
我是旅游科技初创企业AllFly的联合创始人，每年因工作原因需要出差15至20次。对我而言，在飞机上保持网络连接始终是最为重要的需求。今年7月，我搭乘了一次配备Starlink服务的联合航空航班，这次体验便成为我决定转投联合航空的充分理由。同月，因家中有人去世，我需赶回新泽西处理丧事。由于希望选择直飞航班，我临时订下了从奥兰多飞往纽瓦克的联合航空机票。
I'm the cofounder of AllFly, a travel startup, and I travel for work about 15 to 20 times a year. Being connected on the plane is the No. 1 priority for me. After flying a United flight in July that included Starlink, it was enough reason for me to switch. In July, I had to go home to New Jersey for a funeral. I booked a last-minute flight from Orlando to Newark on United, as I was looking for a direct flight.
考虑到当时的特殊情况，我原本并未指望航班能提供Starlink服务。从事旅游行业多年，我深知众多旅客对Starlink期待已久，但自己却始终没有机会体验。登机前，我也未收到任何关于该航班配备Starlink服务的提示信息。直到落座后，我才从座椅背后的显示屏上得知飞机上安装了Starlink系统，这着实是个惊喜。
Given the circumstances, I wasn't looking for Starlink. Having worked in travel, I knew people were clamoring about Starlink, but I hadn't gotten to experience it yet. I didn't see any notifications before my flight about it being a Starlink flight. That day, I sat down in my seat, and my seatback screen notified me that the plane had Starlink. It was a pleasant surprise.
我立刻利用这一机会通过笔记本电脑联网。最令人满意的是，从踏入机舱的那一刻起就能上网，无需等到飞机升空或飞到一定高度才行。当时我需要为即将开展的社交媒体宣传活动剪辑一段视频。借助Starlink服务，我顺利下载了相关视频素材，随后上传并发送给团队成员继续处理。此外，我还成功发送了多张照片。
I took the opportunity to connect on my laptop immediately. It was nice that from the moment you entered the plane, you could be on the internet, rather than waiting until you were in the air or above a certain altitude. I needed to edit a video on CapCut for an upcoming social media campaign. I used Starlink to download a video, and then upload it and send it to a teammate for them to work on, too. I was also able to send pictures.
当时我们正在开发一款内部应用程序，于是我利用Starlink在Replit平台上完成了全部编程工作。当时我同时打开了多个网页，还运行着Claude程序。整个上网体验简直如同在家里的客厅上网一般流畅迅捷——速度之快令人惊叹。在那两个小时的航程中，我始终专注于工作。
We were building an internal app, and so I vibe-coded fully on Replit using Starlink. I had a lot of tabs open and had Claude running. It was amazing, like being on the internet at my house, in my living room— that's how fast it is. For the two-hour flight, I was just doing work.
作为一名创始人，我没有在白天中间下线几个小时的奢侈。当Slack和电子邮件在运行，或者我正与队友合作工作，或者我正在构建一个应用程序时，我希望拥有快速的网络。如果我要在飞机上待两三个小时，能够在空中把事情做完、像在家里一样工作，而不是浪费几个小时，这是非常有益的。出于休闲目的，或者如果我在周末旅行，星链（Starlink）就没那么重要了。
As a founder, I don't get the luxury of being able to log off for a few hours in the middle of the day. When Slack and email are going, or I'm collaborating and working with teammates, or I'm building an app, I want to have fast internet. If I'm going to be on the plane for two or three hours, it's so beneficial to be able to get things done in the air and work as if I'm at home, instead of losing a few hours. For leisure, or if I travel on the weekends, Starlink is a little less essential.
我在周末的航班上很少登录和工作。我是个狂热的电视和电影迷，我只需把电影或节目下载到我的iPad上，然后放空大脑。我曾热切希望我的航班也有星链。结果却没有。这太让人失望了，因为我刚刚体验过如此神奇的服务，然后却不得不回到普通的联合航空（United）Wi-Fi。（编者按：联合航空在2026年7月的一份新闻稿中表示，预计到今年年底将有近1,000架飞机配备星链。）
I seldom log on and work on weekend flights. I'm a big TV and movie guy, and I can just download movies or shows to my iPad and brain-rot. I was so hopeful that my flight would have Starlink too. It didn't. It was such a letdown because I'd just experienced something so magical, and then I had to go back to the normal United Wi-Fi. (Editor's note: In a July 2026 press release, United said it expects that nearly 1,000 aircraft will be Starlink-equipped by the end of the year.)
我尝试登录Replit，以便继续进行氛围编程（vibe coding）。它甚至无法维持连接——太糟糕了。我放弃了，只好听播客。以我的经验，普通的达美航空（Delta）Wi-Fi比普通的联合航空Wi-Fi好得多。在达美航空上，你可以浏览网页，使用Slack或微软团队（Microsoft Teams），并做一些轻量级的工作。你可以看视频，但缓冲有时有点慢。
I tried logging into Replit so I could continue vibe coding. It couldn't even hold a connection — it was horrible. I gave up and just listened to a podcast. In my experience, normal Delta WiFi is much better than normal United WiFi. On Delta, you're able to browse the internet, be on Slack or Microsoft Teams, and do light work. You could watch videos, but sometimes the buffering is a little slow.
它在下载和上传方面确实很吃力；在达美航空的Wi-Fi上发送一张照片或一份文档，对我来说很少能成功发送。在我乘坐的大多数达美航空航班上，航程中至少总有一段时间互联网会中断一段时间，无论是几分钟还是20分钟。正常运行时间的可靠性有点令人不敢恭维。连接和使用任何高强度应用都是一件痛苦的事。我认为除了使用Replit或用Claude或ChatGPT做一些工作之外，我没能做成任何更复杂的事情。
It really struggles with downloading and uploading; sending a photo or a document on Delta WiFi would rarely go through for me. On most Delta flights that I'm on, there's at least some segment of the flight during which the internet goes out for a period of time, whether for a few minutes or 20 minutes. The reliability of the uptime leaves a bit to be desired. Connecting and using anything intensive is a pain. I don't think I've been able to do anything more than being on Replit or doing some work with Claude or ChatGPT.
我会不惜额外努力来维持我的达美航空会员资格；如果有直飞的联合航班和需要转机的达美航班，我会选择达美航班。过去，即使达美航班贵上大约100美元，我也会预订达美航班。在航空公司获得会员资格非常困难 — — 你必须花费大量资金并广泛旅行 — — 所以我立刻接受了联合航空将我的会员资格匹配为Premier 1K，为期120天的提议。
I'd go out of my way to maintain my Delta status; if there was a direct United flight and a Delta flight with a connection, I would take the Delta flight. In the past, I'd book Delta even if it cost up to around $100 more. It's so hard to get status on airlines — you have to spend a lot of money and travel extensively — so I jumped at United's offer to match my status to Premier 1K for 120 days.
我提出申请，并在两天内完成了会员资格匹配。联合航空必须竞争，而会员资格匹配正是从竞争对手那里赢得旅客的方式。如果达美突然向一大批人发放钻石会员资格，导致贵宾俱乐部人满为患、升级变得更难，我也会感到不满，但我理解其中的商业考量。如果联合航空在其星链（Starlink）推出方面做得好，我可以想象自己在达美和联合之间分配时间。
I applied and had my status matched within two days. United has to compete, and status matching is how you win travelers from the other guy. If Delta suddenly handed out Diamond status to a bunch of people, and clubs were more crowded and upgrades got harder, I'd be ticked off too, but I get the business side. If United does a good job with its Starlink rollout, I could see myself splitting my time between Delta and United.
就联合航空而言，为了在接下来的一年里维持我的会员资格，我必须在120天内完成20次合格航班或获得7500个合格积分（相当于在航班上花费7500美元），这对我而言极其困难，因此我的1K会员资格可能不会持续太久。我通过在达美商务储备信用卡上的消费获得达美会员资格，因此我的达美会员资格很可能永远不会受到威胁。
For United, in order to maintain my status for the following year, I have to either fly 20 qualifying flights or earn 7,500 qualifying points (equal to spending $7,500 on flights) within 120 days, which would be extremely hard for me, so my 1K status may be short-lived. I get my Delta status through spending on my Delta Business Reserve credit card, so my Delta status will likely never be in jeopardy.
当我可以乘坐联合航空的直飞航班且价格相当时，我认为联合航空在我这里将来会更具优势。价格、时刻表和时间都是因素，但如果其他条件都相近，我飞行时间超过两小时时，尤其是工作日，我会选择提供星链服务的航班。问题是，目前我无法轻易判断哪些航班提供该服务。达美在提供直飞选项、价格更优或时刻表更佳时仍然占优。
When I can fly somewhere directly on United and prices are comparable, I think United will win for me in the future. Price, schedule, and times are all factors, but if everything else is close, I'd pick a Starlink flight if I'm flying more than two hours, especially during the workweek. The problem is, at the current moment, I can't easily tell which flights have it. Delta still wins when it's the direct flight option, better price, or better schedule.
我宁愿 überall 乘坐达美航班，但如今其免费Wi-Fi质量较差。达美的几乎所有竞争对手都选择了星链，而达美选择了亚马逊Leo，该服务要到2028年才会推出。我希望达美能够关注所有的在线讨论并倾听客户的意见。
I would rather fly Delta everywhere, but now its free WiFi is inferior. Nearly all of Delta's peers went with StarLink, while Delta went with Amazon Leo, which won't be out until 2028. I hope Delta takes stock of all the online chatter and listens to its customers.
它过去在不断改进产品和倾听客户意见方面做得非常出色。它是美国最早提供免费无线网络的航空公司之一，而这一直是一项基本服务，因此整个关于星链（Starlink)的风波令人感到意外。对于美国最赚钱、在我看来也是最优质的航空公司来说，达美航空没有为其飞机配备最好的机上互联网似乎有些奇怪。达美航空的一位发言人表示：“我们感谢客户的忠诚，并始终致力于在他们每次与我们飞行时赢得这种忠诚。达美航空将继续投资于加强我们的互联网络，我们很自豪能够提供屡获殊荣的高端旅行体验，配备升级的产品、忠诚度福利以及达美航空闻名遐迩的标志性热情好客。”
It has done a great job in the past of continually improving its product and listening to its customers. It was one of the first airlines in America to offer free WiFi, which has always been a staple, so the whole Starlink dustup is surprising. For the most profitable and what I feel is the most premium airline in America, it seems odd for Delta not to outfit its planes with the best in-flight internet. A Delta spokesperson said, "We're grateful for the loyalty of our customers and remain focused on earning it every time they fly with us. Delta continues to invest in strengthening our connected network and we're proud to offer an award-winning, premium travel experience with elevated products, loyalty benefits and the signature hospitality that Delta is known for."