Delta Air Lines has reached a milestone in the rollout of free inflight internet across its fleet.
On Monday, the Atlanta-based carrier announced it had finished upgrading the Wi-Fi systems on its 1,000th plane.
It’s a milestone in Delta’s yearslong plan to make onboard Wi-Fi free for all travelers — a shift that has since become a major trend across the airline industry.
As of this week, around three in four Delta jets now have free Wi-Fi available to all passengers — as long as they have a Delta SkyMiles number.
It’s been a major undertaking for the airline.
Delta had to upgrade all of its Wi-Fi technology in order to support the larger number of passengers it expected to access the internet service once the fees for using it went away.
As of today, complimentary Wi-Fi is now available for Delta SkyMiles members on most of the airline’s domestic and long-haul international flights.
That includes nearly all its biggest planes: Delta has finished upgrading the Wi-Fi technology on its Boeing 737, 757 and 767 jets — along with its Airbus A220s, A320 family of aircraft and A330s.
This week, maintenance crews were wrapping up installation on its A350 fleet.
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Still to come: Delta’s smallest planes.
The carrier is about a third of the way done outfitting its Delta Connection regional fleet with the upgraded Wi-Fi equipment, the airline told TPG this week.
Meanwhile, the carrier is still awaiting certification for the upgraded Wi-Fi for its smallest mainline aircraft: the Boeing 717.
Delta said it expects its entire global fleet to be outfitted with faster, free Wi-Fi at some point in 2026.
Most routes (but not all) now have connectivity
Despite a majority of Delta’s planes being configured for free internet surfing, travelers may still encounter some “dead” zones while in the air on certain long-haul trips.
Specifically, travelers may run into connectivity issues over the Pacific Ocean — especially the South Pacific — so expect to be without internet for large stretches if you’re flying to Asia or Australia.
Delta expects to have the whole world connected “soon,” pending additional satellite launches from its provider (Viasat).
On the flipside, customers should be able to have uninterrupted connectivity on all flights to Europe, Africa and South America, the carrier told TPG. The same goes for all domestic flights, including those to Alaska and Hawaii.
An industrywide march to free Wi-Fi
Delta first announced its plans to make onboard Wi-Fi free for Delta SkyMiles members in January 2023.
Since then, all its top U.S. competitors have followed in its footsteps.
Earlier this year, United Airlines launched its first service with complimentary Starlink Wi-Fi for United MileagePlus members — now available on more than half of its regional jets and some mainline planes.
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In October, Southwest Airlines made its Wi-Fi free for Southwest Rapid Rewards members, and American Airlines will do the same for its American Airlines AAdvantage members next month.
Alaska Airlines has also announced plans to add free Starlink to its planes, matching sister carrier Hawaiian Airlines.
JetBlue has long been the outlier, having offered its free “Fly-Fi” service for years.
Related: Which airlines offer free Wi-Fi? A complete guide
Nearing the finish line
For its part, Delta had originally hoped to have its planes updated with the free Wi-Fi by the end of 2024.
But after some delays, the carrier appears to now be nearing the finish line, with 1,000 aircraft online and around 300 more to go.
Whether it’s newer higher-tech seatback screens or free (and fully functional) Wi-Fi, Delta expects passengers will be able to increasingly multitask on a flight — watching a movie and scrolling, just like they would on their couch.
“When you’re at home, you’re watching TV and then checking stuff on your phone,” said Joseph Eddy, Delta’s director of cabins and inflight entertainment and connectivity. “We are rapidly approaching a consumer approach for multiple device consumption at the same time.”
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