Bastian said by the end of the year, the airline will outfit more than 700 planes with high-speed, satellite-based broadband service from T-Mobile. It plans to expand free Wi-Fi to international and
“It’s always struck me that when we fly, we fly to connect,” Bastian told The Associated Press in an interview. “But when we’re in the sky, we disconnect.”
Many airlines are upgrading internet access on their planes so passengers can stay connected or stream entertainment on their electronic devices, but they usually have to pay for it.
“People want to be connected, and the fact that airlines can’t connect in the sky is something that I felt we had to figure out,” Bastian said, noting that the rollout of the
Customers will need an account in Delta’s SkyMiles frequent-flyer program, which is free to join, to use the Wi-Fi service. There is no limit on the number of devices passengers can connect to the inflight Wi-Fi. More than 500 planes will have the free service as of
Delta’s announcement at CES comes on the heels of
The disruptions started with a winter storm and snowballed when Southwest’s ancient crew-scheduling technology failed.
Bastian declined to comment on his rival’s issues but said
“And we are continuing to improve the ability for crews to connect efficiently with the airplane,” he said.
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