Atlanta (TAN): Flying is about to become more exciting from May 13, when passengers on 55 domestic flights of American airline Delta get to surf the internet without spending a dime.
However, this is a pilot run from the carrier’s end that will be implemented across all cabins on select short-, medium- and long-haul routes for two weeks.
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Delta’s Director of Onboard Product Ekrem Dimbiloglu said there is no reason passengers should be denied access to Wi-Fi while flying.
“Customers are accustomed to having access to free Wi-Fi during nearly every other aspect of their journey, and Delta believes it should be free when flying, too,” he said.
“Testing will be key to getting this highly complex program right – this takes a lot more creativity, investment and planning to bring to life than a simple flip of a switch,” he added.
Delta will allow its flyers to do everything on Wi-Fi free of charge, from browsing, shopping, and messaging to sending out emails and spending time on social media, except video streaming.
The airline will run the trial on select domestic aircraft equipped with high-speed 2Ku Wi-Fi to recognise customer preferences, feedback and system performance.
Dimbiloglu said it could take more test phases for Delta to be sure the free product is useful, given the complexity of the scheme.
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“As with any test in uncharted territory, Delta will rely heavily on customer and employee feedback to navigate how to best make free in-flight Wi-Fi a reality,” he said.
Delta said test flight segments will not remain the same everyday, although passengers will be alerted if their flight would be part of the trial. Customers will find this information either through email, a Fly Delta app push notification before their flight, or while checking the inflight Wi-Fi portal.
The carrier currently provides Wi-Fi on almost all domestic and international flights that can be used for a fee.
