It’s been a long time coming, but Delta has raced ahead of every major, full-service airline in the United States and launched complimentary WiFi service during flights. As of this week, passengers are no longer required to be disconnected from their socials or email while flying, in a major change of policy that is set to have wider repercussions in the industry.
As exciting as it sounds, Delta has reiterated not all flights are included:
Free WiFi On All Domestic Mainline Routes
Lack of connectivity on board Delta flights is no longer a problem. On February 1, the company introduced its ‘fast, free’ Wi-Fi across a sizable portion of its fleet, allowing customers to access the internet without paying high fees. The initiative, which is a partnership with T-Mobile, has impacted ‘most’ domestic mainline routes.
For those of you who may not be familiar with aviation lingo, any aircraft operated by an airline’s main operating unit is deemed ‘mainline’. In simpler terms, only routes serviced by Delta directly, as opposed to regional subsidiaries, have benefited from the rollout. Needless to say, it was not extended to a majority of low-cost operations.
The Delta secondary fleet is run under the Delta Connection brand, including the carrier’s own Endeavor Air, as well as subsidiaries Republic Airways and SkyWest, regularly used as part of code-sharing agreements. In total, Viasat-powered Wi-Fi was activated on more than 500 aircraft on the launch date, with more to come.
By the end of the year, they plan on offering Wi-Fi on more than 700 aircraft. Remaining connected in-flight is no longer a luxury; it is ‘essential to daily life’, especially in the context of business owners and digital nomads who use every opportunity they get in those in-between moments (e.g. flying or transiting airports) to catch up with some work.
According to CEO Ed Bastian himself, their connectivity ‘should be no different’ on Delta flights. He stated in Delta’s press release that their vision ‘has long been to deliver an experience at 30,000 feet that feels similar to what our customers have available on the ground‘, beginning with mainline, domestic operations.
Airports Served By Delta Air Lines
The following destinations have been served by Delta Air Lines:
Alabama
- Birmingham – Shuttlesworth International
- Huntsville
- Mobile
Alaska
- Anchorage – Ted Stevens International
- Fairbanks
- Juneau
- Ketchikan
- Sitka
Arizona
Arkansas
- Fayetteville – Northwest Arkansas National
- Little Rock – Clinton National
California
- Burbank
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles – Los Angeles International
- Oakland
- Ontario
- Palm Springs
- Sacramento
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose – Norman Y. Mineta International
- Santa Ana – John Wayne Airport
Colorado
- Denver – Denver International
- Hayden – Yampa Valley Airport
- Montrose
- Vail – Eagle County Airport
Connecticut
- Hartford – Bradley International
Florida
- Daytona Beach
- Fort Lauderdale – Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International
- Fort Myers – Southwest Florida International
- Fort Walton Beach – Destin-Fort Walton Beach
- Gainesville
- Jacksonville
- Key West
- Melbourne – Melbourne Orlando International
- Miami – Miami International
- Orlando – Orlando International
- Panama City – Northwest Florida Beaches International
- Pensacola
- Sarasota – Sarasota-Bradenton International
- Tallahassee
- Tampa
- West Palm Beach
Georgia
- Atlanta – Hartsfield-Jackson International
- Augusta
- Savannah
Hawaii
- Honolulu – Daniel K. Inouye International
- Kahului
- Kona
- Lihue
Idaho
Illinois
- Chicago – Midway International
- Chicago – O’Hare International
Indiana
Iowa
- Cedar Rapids – Eastern Iowa Airport
- Des Moines
Kansas
- Wichita – Eisenhower National Airport
Kentucky
- Louisville – Muhammad Ali International
Louisiana
- Baton Rouge – Metropolitan Airport
- New Orleans – Louis Armstrong New Orleans International
Maine
- Bangor
- Portland – International Jetport
Maryland
- Baltimore – Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Massachusetts
- Boston – Logan International
- Worcester
Michigan
- Detroit – Metropolitan Airport
- Grand Rapids – Gerald R. Ford International
- Traverse City – Cherry Capital Airport
Minnesota
- Duluth
- Minneapolis-Saint Paul
Mississippi
- Gulfport – Gulfport-Biloxi International
- Jackson
Missouri
- Kansas City – Kansas City International
- Springfield – Springfield-Branson National Airport
- St. Louis – St. Louis Lambert International
Montana
- Billings – Billings Logan International
- Bozeman – Bozeman Yellowstone International
- Kalispell – Glacier Park International
- Missoula
Nebraska
- Omaha – Eppley Airfield
Nevada
- Las Vegas – Harry Reid International
- Reno – Reno-Tahoe International
New Jersey
- Newark – Liberty International
New Mexico
New York
- Albany
- Buffalo – Buffalo Niagara International
- New York City – John F. Kennedy International
- New York City – LaGuardia International
- Rochester – Greater Rochester International
- Syracuse – Syracuse Hancock International
- White Plains – Westchester County Airport
North Carolina
- Asheville
- Charlotte – Charlotte Douglas International
- Fayetteville
- Greensboro – Piedmont Triad International
- Raleigh – Raleigh-Durham International
- Wilmington
North Dakota
- Bismark – Municipal Airport
- Fargo – Hector International
Ohio
- Cincinnati-Covington – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
- Cleveland – Cleveland Hopkins International
- Columbus – John Glenn Columbus International
- Dayton
Oklahoma
- Oklahoma City – Will Rogers World Airport
- Tulsa
Oregon
Pennsylvania
- Harrisburg
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
Puerto Rico
- San Juan – Luis Munoz Marin International
Rhode Island
- Providence – T. F. Green Airport
South Carolina
- Greenville – Greenville-Spartanburg International
- Myrtle Beach
South Dakota
- Rapid City – Regional Airport
- Sioux Falls – Regional Airport
Tennessee
- Bristol – Tri-Cities Regional Airport
- Chattanooga – Metropolitan Airport
- Knoxville – McGhee Tyson Airport
- Memphis – Memphis International
- Nashville – Nashville International
Texas
- Austin – Austin-Bergstrom International
- Dallas – Dallas/Fort Worth International
- Dallas – Dallas Love Field
- El Paso – El Paso International
- Harlingen – Valley International
- Houston – George Bush Intercontinental
- Houston – William P. Hobby
- San Antonio – San Antonio International
U.S. Virgin Islands
- Saint Croix – Henry E. Rohlsen International
- Saint Thomas – Cyril E. King Airport
Utah
- Salt Lake City – Salt Lake City International
Vermont
- Burlington – Burlington International
Virginia
- Norfolk – Norfolk International
- Richmond – Richmond International
- Roanoke – Roanoke International
Washington
- Seattle – Seattle-Tacoma International
- Spokane – Spokane International
Washington D.C.
- Washington – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
- Washington – Washington Dulles International
West Virginia
- Charleston – Yager Airport
Wisconsin
- Appleton – Appleton International
- Green Bay – Green Bay-Austin Straubel International
- Madison – Dane County Airport
- La Crosse – La Crosse Regional
- Milwaukee – Milwaukee Mitchell International
Wyoming
- Casper – Casper-Natrona County International
- Jackson Hole
WiFi Expected On All International And Regional Flights By The End Of 2024
In principle, flights between these hubs already feature Viasat WiFi. Moving forward, Delta expects to include coverage on all international and regional aircraft ‘by the end of 2024’. At present, only passengers flying to and from any of the cities above enjoy free WiFi, available through their Delta SkyMiles® account.
Bastian stated that they didn’t ‘just want free Wi-Fi to offer base-level service’: they expect it to be ‘transformative’ for the flying experience: ‘It is imperative all customers onboard can enjoy their favorite content just as they would at home, and we’ve put this system through meticulous tests to make that possible‘.
Delta may have been the first airline to successfully implement complimentary WiFi on mainline aircraft, but it was not the first to conduct a trial: last year, low-cost Southwest began offering the service on a number of flights while lifting restrictions on browsing. Previously, a WiFi pass had to be purchased for $8, excluding streaming.
Despite Delta’s and Southwest’s latest upgrades, free WiFi on board is yet to be replicated by most of their competitors, though slowly but surely, the industry is changing and adding it to their list of amenities. A decade or more ago, accessing emails onboard low-cost commercial flights would have been an inconceivable idea, yet here we are.
As competition increases, it is only a matter of time – perhaps a couple more years – until WiFi is widely available across all intra-U.S. flights.
