Delta Air Lines begins offering free, fast WiFi on select international flights

Delta Airlines The airline is introducing free Wi-Fi on its international flights and has been working hard with global telecommunications company ViaSat to equip some of its long-haul aircraft with high-speed internet connections.

The airline already offers free streaming-quality Wi-Fi on about 700 aircraft, more than 90 percent of its domestic fleet, but the Atlanta-based airline is now making strides on its international fleet as well, with plans to offer free Wi-Fi across its network.

“A very complicated development”

Ranjan Goswami, senior vice president of customer experience design at Delta Air Lines, said the company’s free Wi-Fi deployment rate is “Unparalleled” by other airlines.

“Our continued rollout of fast, free Wi-Fi and the in-flight experience it enables us to offer new, time-sensitive services to our customers as they travel domestically and internationally. The scale at which we offer free Wi-Fi to our customers is unmatched in the airline industry and is a testament to the incredible work of the Delta team as they navigated a highly complex rollout.”

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

The Internet is set to be introduced on wide-body aircraft. “For each route” More will be added based on availability. Delta says the fast, free WiFi is already available on the majority of its flights to and from Paris and Nice in France. By the end of this month, the airline plans to add the new internet to the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. The rest of its schedule will see WiFi arrive on its trans-Pacific routes last next year.

• September 2024: Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland
• October 2024: South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) and Hawaii
• December 2024/January 2025: Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal
• Mid-to-late 2025: Trans-Pacific (Asia, Australia, New Zealand) and South Africa

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Delta also announced that it will roll out faster, free internet connectivity next year to its regional aircraft and aging Boeing 717 fleet. Planes already equipped with ViaSat WiFi will be switched over to a personalized Delta Sync WiFi experience later this year for SkyMiles members.

New satellite

ViaSat announced last week that its new VS3 F1 satellite, the latest hardware in its high-speed technology, has entered commercial service. “An important milestone” For aviation industry customers.

“The launch of commercial service by ViaSat-3 F1 marks an important milestone for our aviation customers, providing industry-leading service on routes from the continental U.S. to Hawaii.” Don Bookman, the company’s vice president and general manager, told Simple Flying:“Most of our customers are already equipped with second-generation hardware, and by running the latest software, they will be able to access the new coverage and capacity provided through the ViaSat-3 F1 satellite.”

“High-quality features”

Delta warned that there may be gaps in coverage during the WiFi transition period depending on satellite availability, and said some aircraft will continue to require paid WiFi access until more satellites are available.

“The really exciting thing is that this is just the beginning of the journey!” Buchmann explained: ““As the VS3 constellation expands with the next two satellites, we will be able to provide these high-quality capabilities to aircraft around the world, expanding our capacity in the areas with the most demand and staying ahead of ever-growing demand.”

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

ViaSat declined to comment on specific customers or flight details.

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