By Shawn Gallagher
Delta has announced that its transatlantic routes, including flights to Europe, Israel, and West Africa will now have free Wi-Fi as of early April. This is a major milestone for the airline as they look to push for free Wi-Fi on all international routes by 2026.
Delta has integrated free Wi-Fi for its domestic fleet previously, and they now eye its South American network next which the airline “…expects to complete later this spring” according to a press release yesterday.
Being On Top of the Wi-Fi Game
Delta has been mostly ahead of the Wi-Fi game in recent years. They were the first airline out of the 3 legacy carriers to roll out free Wi-Fi on domestic routes, and will now be the first to roll out free Wi-Fi on international routes. United has been upping its passenger experience game with its Next project and Starlink Wi-Fi, but they’re still behind Delta when it comes to overall coverage. American, meanwhile, only recently just began testing free Wi-Fi on select routes within the United States. They still have a long ways to go before they catch up to the likes of Delta and United.
All of this helps Delta be able to consider itself as “America’s premium airline” (whether we think so or not). With its robust integration of IFE screens on almost all of its fleet combined with free inflight Wi-Fi, this creates an improved passenger experience onboard.
I’ve previously written a little about this ideal and important combination of free Wi-Fi + quality IFE screens. I think this is key for airlines as it gives passengers more freedom to do whatever they choose for the duration of the flight.
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My Thoughts
I frequently fly internationally, and I’m happy to see Delta pushing for the rollout of free Wi-Fi on these international routes. Although my frequent transpacific routes between the US and Japan still have some waiting time, I’m definitely happy to see this progress.
When they do get around to transpacific flights, Delta will be the first airline operating between Japan and the US to offer free Wi-Fi for all passengers. United, American, and ANA currently charge for Wi-Fi, and JAL only offers free Wi-Fi for 1 hour for premium economy and economy class passengers.
I’ve been arguing for a while now that Delta is a strong choice for transpacific flights even against the likes of notable Asian airlines, and its free Wi-Fi rollout will be another plus.
Now, should you book an international flight on Delta solely because they have free Wi-Fi? Of course not. However, it’s always going to be a nice addition whenever you fly them. For now, having this on transatlantic flights to Europe, Israel, and West Africa is a great start.
All photos taken by the author.