The service provided by T-Mobile is seen as “a major milestone in the airline’s journey to bring reliable, streaming quality connectivity to its entire global fleet for free,” a statement from Kingdom Concept Consult said.
Most transatlantic flights, according to the Company, “are expected to be in service with free Wi-Fi by the end of the summer.”
“Today, free streaming-quality connectivity is available on nearly 700 aircraft – more than 90% of Delta’s domestic mainline fleet – and the airline expects that vast majority of customers will have access to the product by the end of the year.
“As we continue to roll out fast, free Wi-Fi and the in-flight experiences it powers, we’re able to serve customers travelling both domestically and internationally in new, in-the-moment ways,” Ranjan Goswami, S.V.P, Customer Experience Design, was quoted in the statement.
“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,” he added.
The Company said the free Wi-Fi on “Viasat-equipped widebody aircraft” was being done on a route-by-route basis,” with additional routes “phased in as high-quality, reliable service becomes available”.
It highlighted other technicalities of the roll out and provided timelines for specific routes.
In August 2024 “Viasat-Equipped Routes” to and from United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Italy would be served.
September 2024 would have routes to Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland, come on board.
October 2024 would have South America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) followed by Hawaii routes while December 2024 to January 2025 will phase in that of Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal.
Mid-Late 2025 would have that of Transpacific region (including Asia, Australia and New Zealand) and South Africa.
Those timelines, according to Delta, were “subject to change and based on testing and satellite availability.”
“Delta’s regional routes are expected to follow a similar process and come online into 2025, including those serviced by Boeing 717 aircraft.
“During the airline’s Wi-Fi transition period, there are unfortunately some coverage gaps where Wi-Fi is not available until additional satellites are positioned to provide full coverage,” it added.
Customers have been encouraged to visit Delta Air Line website to know if free Wi-Fi would be available on their flights.
GNA