Delta Air Lines Inc. has started rolling out free Wi-Fi on European flights this month, the first step in equipping its global fleet with the service by next year.
Working with T-Mobile, the airline has already brought what it calls “streaming-quality” connectivity to 90 percent of its domestic fleet, about 700 planes. Rolling it out globally at a scale executives say is unprecedented in the industry has been slower but is moving apace with plans announced by the Consumer Electronics Show in 2023.
Flights from the U.S. to the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy are to be fully equipped by the end of August, with most transatlantic flights getting connected by summer’s end, Delta announced Thursday, saying the majority of customers will have access to free Wi-Fi on board by the end of the year.
Flights to South America and Hawaii are on the agenda for October, followed by Africa in the winter and longer Pacific and South Africa routes by mid-to-late 2025.
The airline has long offered free messaging onboard, even on international flights, but leaders have said expanding to full Wi-Fi connectivity is a critical means of improving customer satisfaction in an always-on world.
Learn more and see the proposed rollout timeline here.
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