There are some complicated news about Delta Air Lines’ free fleet-wide Wi-Fi rollouts.
Starting with a positive update, the Atlanta-based carrier officially made free Wi-Fi available for all transatlantic voyages with Europe, West Africa and Israel. This means that most transatlantic flight travelers can connect to the internet simply by signing them Sky Mile account.
(A notable exclusion of free Wi-Fi services across the Atlantic Ocean offers services between Cape Town, South Africa and Johannesburg.)
Additionally, Delta will also roll out free Wi-Fi on international routes to South America later this spring.
However, Delta noted that internet connectivity can vary depending on the aircraft’s location compared to internet satellites in the air. For example, some polar routes may not have connectivity throughout the flight.
Within the state, carriers have officially begun replacing the oldest airline Wi-Fi service with a much more upgraded connectivity experience. This includes Airline’s regional jetIt will immediately receive fuse Wi-Fi antennas, allowing for faster, more reliable gate-to-gate connections, as well as providing free internet access on these planes.
The airline has completed its first CRJ-700 Internet Retrofit. This is expected to include more upgraded regional jets in the coming months. (This is a similar solution Americans do it on local jetsHowever, Americans are still charging Wi-Fi. )
As part of the regional jet upgrade, Delta will begin equipping the Boeing 717 Mainline Fleet with dual network connectivity solutions. It was not immediately clear which provider and configuration delta would be used in the 717 Fleet. The airline said in 2023 It had partnered with Hughes Network Systems to bring Wi-Fi to these planes.
Internet upgrades for the Boeing 717 will not begin until the fourth quarter of this year, and are expected to be fully completed early next year.
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Delta also said the selected delivery of the new Airbus A350-1000 and Airbus A321neo will be equipped with a dual-network Internet experience. TPG will contact a spokesperson to learn more about these upgrades and update this story when they hear them.
However, while Delta has done an optimal job of equipping most of its fleet with free Wi-Fi, there are several major exceptions remaining, including accounting flights and services to South Africa.
When is that First unveiled free Wi-Fi at Consumer Electronic Show In 2023, the airline said it would complete its deployment by the end of 2024. last year, The timeline was skated until some point in 2025and now, once again, the timeline is behind until 2026 – the earliest.
The airline does not share if they plan to complete a free Wi-Fi rollout.
What’s even more concerning for Atlanta people might be the catch-up game United Airlines plays with free Wi-Fi. The Chicago-based carrier announced last year that it would install it Free Fleet-wide StarLink Wi-Fiis considered even faster and more reliable than Delta’s existing free Wi-Fi provider Viasat.
Of course, United First jet certified Using free Wi-Fi, the Delta is still united with over 700 aircraft. (The undisputed leader of free Wi-Fi is JetBlue, which offers free ViaSat connectivity on all jets in the fleet.)
That being said, United promises an accelerated deployment schedule across the region fleet, so perhaps the Chicago-based carrier will do the same when equipping the mainline fleet.
Either way, the good news is that onboard internet is getting faster, more reliable and fairly affordable (even if not free) all at once.
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