Delta is almost ready to make good on its pledge to be the second major U.S. carrier with free WiFi across its fleet, according to Delta officials who spoke with The Points Guy website. The free service is in trials now, and will roll out across all mainline domestic flights later in the year.
Keeping the free WiFi promise made by CEO Ed Bastian before the pandemic will put Delta just behind JetBlue, which has featured free WiFi since the beginning. Delta’s plan will extend to international flights by sometime in 2024. The ‘full-fleet’ WiFi plan, however, doesn’t include regional flights operating under the Delta Connection brand by contracted carriers.
Delta’s new planes are equipped with Viasat satellite WiFi, and it’s being added to its existing fleet. Many Delta flights are already offering $5 flat-rate WiFi; presumably the fee will go when the whole system is turned on.
Delta isn’t alone in moving toward free or cheaper WiFi; United is now offering $8 per flight rates to its loyalty members on domestic routes, and American is trying out free service on Viasat-equipped planes; it also lowered some of its regular fees.
