United States Delta Air Lines has announced plans to offer fast, free Wi-Fi in partnership with T-Mobile to all customers on board most domestic mainline flights beginning from February 1 thus being the first major U.S. airline to make such offer.
While the free Wi-Fi offer service will be available on more than 700 Viasat-equipped aircraft by the end of 2023, the airline also announced plans to bring free Wi-Fi on international and regional aircraft by the end of 2024.
Commenting on the development, Delta Chief Executive Officer, Ed Bastian declared: “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.”
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.
For the CEO of T-Mobile, Mike Sievert: “At T-Mobile, we believe staying connected while traveling should be an easy, seamless experience, T-Mobile customers already get 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.”
Meantime, the airline also announced its plans for Delta Sync Exclusives hub, a new SkyMiles-unlocked mobile platform coming this spring aimed at elevating the in-flight connectivity experience with exclusive offers, access and entertainment from beloved brands that are mainstays of everyday life. Delta will launch Delta Sync Exclusives hub later this spring.”
Delta has long used technology as a tool to further its mission of connecting people and to redefine consumer expectations.
Working with engineers from Viasat, the satellite internet service provider behind the airline’s connectivity revolution teams at Delta 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.
