One of T-Mobile's travel perks just became a lot less exciting

For years, T-Mobile has been the go-to option for those looking for free wireless access while traveling through the airways. That’s starting to change, however. Earlier this week, T-Mobile started notifying customers that “due to changes in airline Wi-Fi programs, free in-flight Wi-Fi may no longer be available on some flights and airlines starting April 13”. Now we’ve learned that United Airlines and American Airlines have officially ended their deals with T-Mobile as well.

The reasons for this change vary. For American Airlines, this comes as the company shifts to offering free Wi-Fi to all its passengers through a partnership with AT&T. Meanwhile, United Airlines has begun offering its own free in-flight Wi-Fi via ViaSat.

T-Mobile customers will still be able to get free Wi-Fi aboard both of these airlines, it’s just that the perk is no longer something exclusive to T-Mobile.

It’s also worth mentioning that T-Mobile still has partnerships with Delta, Alaska, Hawaiian, and Southwest. That said, Delta will eventually transition to a partnership with Amazon in 2028.

Bottom line is that the value of T-Mobile’s in-flight perks isn’t what it used to be. If this was one of the reasons you were hanging around the Un-Carrier, you might have one more reason to consider a cheaper prepaid alternative like Visible or Google Fi.