Summary Delta Air Lines is introducing free WiFi on international flights, planning to roll it out across its entire network. The rollout is "complex" but is "unmatched" by other airlines. ViaSat entered a new satellite for high-speed internet service into service last week.
Delta Air Lines is introducing complementary WiFi on international flights. The carrier has been hard at work equipping select long-haul aircraft with high-speed internet connectivity thanks to global communications company ViaSat. The airline already offers free, streaming-quality WiFi on nearly 700 aircraft, which is over 90% of its domestic fleet.
However, the Atlanta-based carrier is now making progress with its international fleet, intending to have free WiFi across its entire network. “An extremely complex rollout” Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s Senior Vice President of Customer Experience Design, said the carrier's rate of rolling out free WiFi is “unmatched” by other airlines. “As we continue to roll out fast, free Wi-Fi and the in-flight experiences it powers, we’re able to serve customers traveling both domestically and internationally in new, in-the-moment ways.
The scale at which we’re bringing free Wi-Fi to customers is unmatched in the airline industry, and it’s a testament to the incredible efforts of Delta teams across the business that have expertly navigated an extremely complex rollout.” The internet will be introduced on its widebody aircraft on a “route-by-route basis,” and more will be added depending on availability. Delta said fast, free WiFi has already been rolled out on the majority of its flights to and from Paris and Nice, France.
By the end of this month, the carrier hopes to add the new internet to the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy. The remainder of its expected timeline projects the WiFi will be last introduced on routes to the transpacific region next year: September 2024: Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland October 2024: South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) and Hawaii December 2024/January 2025: Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal Mid-Late 2025: Transpacific Region (Asia, Australia, New Zealand) and South Africa The aircraft arrived outside a hangar full of festivities marking the countdown to the 2028 Summer Games. Delta also confirmed that its regional aircraft and aging Boeing 717 aircraft will receive fast and free internet connectivity next year.
Aircraft already equipped with ViaSat WiFi will be converted to the personalized Delta Sync WiFi experience later this year. The feature is for SkyMiles members. A new satellite ViaSat announced last week that its new VS3 F1 Satellite, the latest hardware of its high-speed technology, has entered commercial service, marking an “important milestone” for its customers in the aviation industry.
“The start of commercial services from ViaSat-3 F1 is an important milestone for our aviation customers. It brings our industry leading service for our airline customers on routes from the US Mainland to Hawaii,” the company’s Vice President and General Manager Don Buchman, said to Simple Flying . “Most of our customers are already equipped with our Gen 2 hardware, so by running the latest software, this will enable access the new coverage and capacity being made available through our ViaSat-3 F1 satellite.
” “High quality capabilities” Throughout Delta’s WiFi transition period, the airline warned that there could be some gaps in coverage due to satellite availability. Additionally, the carrier said some aircraft will continue to require a paid WiFi experience until more satellites are in service. “ What is really exciting is this is just the start of the journey!” Buchman explained.
“ As the VS3 constellation expands with our next two satellites, we will bring these high quality capabilities to aircraft around the globe, while expanding our capacity in the densest demand regions, so we can continually stay ahead of an ever increasing demand. “ ViaSat would not comment on the details of specific customers or flights. The rear-engined twinjets rank among Delta's oldest narrowbody aircraft.
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