Over the last few years, Delta Air Lines has been on a mission to roll out fast, free Wi-Fi across its fleet, but while the introduction of free inflight internet has been successfully completed on the vast majority of Delta’s mainline domestic fleet, the same can’t be said for its international aircraft.
The good news on that front, however, is that as of the start of April, Delta says that all transatlantic flights to Europe, Israel, and West Africa will now benefit from its free Delta Sync Wi-Fi, which is sponsored by T-Mobile.
Delta first switched on free Wi-Fi for SkyMiles loyalty club members across most of its mainline fleet of short-haul aircraft as part of a major partnership with T-Mobile in early 2023, although the rollout across the rest of the fleet has slipped on initial estimates.
For example, Delta said it planned to start installing free Wi-Fi on its domestic mainline Boeing 717 jets in 2024, but the installation process is only expected to get underway and will stretch through to early 2026.
Meanwhile, the first of Delta’s regional jets was only outfitted with free Wi-Fi earlier this Spring and the retrofit program across the entire could also stretch into next year.
As for the rest of Delta’s international fleet, well, routes to South America are set to benefit from free Wi-Fi later this Spring, while the rest of Delta’s international network on flights to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, won’t now get free Wi-Fi until 2026.
In a statement, Delta explained that the delays to international routes were because the airline was “taking more time to test and enhance the service to ensure its customers get the best experience possible before bringing additional markets online with fast, reliable, and free connectivity.”
Unlike rival United, which tapped Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service to equip its aircraft with fast, free inflight Wi-Fi, Delta is using two different satellite internet companies for its rollout.
More than 400 regional jets, along with the Boeing 717s, are to get streaming quality Wi-Fi from Hughes, while the rest of Delta’s fleet will have the technology from Viasat installed.
The free Wi-Fi rollout is part of a much bigger package of improvements to Delta’s inflight entertainment offering, which includes a new AI-powered app and a cloud-based inflight entertainment system.
Delta claims its decision to continue investing in seatback screens and improved entertainment systems has been proven right by new data that shows passengers are using multiple screens while flying, just like they do when they are in their living rooms.
While passengers might be keen to take advantage of free inflight Wi-Fi, that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop them from using seatback screens to watch movies or catch up on the news via live TV.
