What happened
United Airlines is experiencing significant Wi-Fi availability issues on its long-haul flights, particularly over the Pacific Ocean. Pilots received an internal memo acknowledging that the Panasonic satellite provider is saturated at certain times of the day, leading to unusable or limited connectivity. While rumors circulated that United had terminated its contract with Panasonic ahead of a transition to Starlink, sources confirm the contract remains active. The issue appears to be capacity-related rather than a service withdrawal. United has a large Pacific network, so passengers may notice this more frequently than on other carriers using Panasonic, though American Airlines and Singapore Airlines may face similar issues. Frequent flyers should not rely on United's Wi-Fi coverage map for reliability on Pacific routes. Expect coverage gaps similar to Delta's current map, where connectivity is not guaranteed over much of the Pacific and Asia