Delta introduces free onboard Wi-Fi
The Delta Airline will introduce free Wi-Fi on its international and regional aircraft by the end of 2024.
By the end of 2023, the airline will offer the service on more than 700 Viasat-equipped aircraft.
Advertisement
The airline has already set February 1, 2023 to begin offering fast, free Wi-Fi in partnership with T-Mobile to all customers on board most domestic mainline flights.
The airline thus, becomes the first major U.S. airline to introduce the service as a core element of its customer experience.
“At work, at home and everywhere in between, connectivity is essential to daily life, and your journey on Delta should be no different.
“Our vision has long been to deliver an experience at 30,000 feet that feels similar to what our customers have available on the ground,”the Delta Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ed Bastian said at the CES 2023 in Las Vegas.
Designed to fuel Delta’s vision of more personalised travel,customers will log in using their Delta SkyMiles account or join SkyMiles on the ground or in the air for free to connect.
Culture of innovation
Mr Bastian said the airline had long used technology as a tool to further its mission of connecting people and to redefine consumer expectations.
“Delta is working with engineers from Viasat — the satellite internet service provider behind the airline’s connectivity revolution.
He said from development to implementation, the scale of the airline’s global operation required a Delta-led team of engineers,developers, designers, product leaders and technicians working tirelessly to build, install and deploy an ecosystem of technologies fit to unlock the future of travel.
“The teams have applied a rigorous approach to testing, learning and scaling best-in-class in-flight connectivity,with an eye toward rolling out the new system on more routes at an unprecedented scale by the end of 2024.
“We did not just want free Wi-Fi to offer base-levelservice – we wanted it to be transformative forthe entire onboard experience.
“It is imperative all customers onboard can enjoy their favourite content just astheywould at home,and we’ve put this system through meticulous tests to make that possible,” Mr Bastian said.
Stay connected
Speaking on behalf of T-Mobile,the CEO of the company, Mike Sievert,said “at T-Mobile, we believe staying connected while travelling should be an easy,seamless experience”.
He added, all T-Mobile customers already got free in-flight Wi-Fi and “now, we’re partnering with Delta to bring that experience to all customers regardless of their wireless provider so that anyone flying Delta can enjoy online access from takeoff to touchdown”.
Delta announced more exciting plansfor Delta Sync Exclusives hub.
The hub is a new SkyMiles-unlocked mobile platform aimed at elevating the inflight connectivity experience with exclusive offers, access and entertainmentfrom beloved brandsthat are mainstays of everyday life.
The company intends to launch the Delta Sync Exclusives hub later this spring