• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » Delta Air Lines » Delta’s Smart Move Toward Free Wi-Fi
Delta Air Lines

Delta’s Smart Move Toward Free Wi-Fi

Matthew Klint Posted onMarch 13, 2019November 14, 2023 4 Comments

a man sitting in an airplane with a tablet and a woman in headphones

Delta CEO Ed Bastian is looking to make high-speed speed wi-fi internet free within two years. That’s a smart move.

Speaking to Barron’s, Bastian stated:

One initiative is rolling out high-speed Wi-Fi on its aircraft. A majority of Delta planes now have it, but it costs $16 a day for North American travel, or $599.99 for an annual pass. “Our goal is to make Wi-Fi free with high-speed quality. It will take another year or two to make that happen.

Gary Leff, of View from the Wing, explains why this makes sense:

Offering inflight internet without extra charge is not something that costs hundreds of millions to give away free, it’s something that you make more money selling as part of a bundle, in this case bundled with the airline ticket.

He uses a cable TV analogy, arguing that bundling increases revenue…and aggregate welfare.

Thus, the question is can Delta charge more for airline tickets if it offers free high-speed internet as part of the package?

I must admit, I’m skeptical. The good news is that with the new generation of high-speed internet onboard, bandwidth is no longer a primary concern. Thus, with the supply issue resolved, there is no longer rationing driven by demand for a scarce resource.

But most travelers seem very happy to forgo any sort of comfort to save a few bucks on airfare. How else has Spirit done so remarkably well?

I think where Delta will win is not with the occasional price-sensitive flyers who will suddenly choose Delta because of free internet onboard. Instead, it will be from road warriors on the margin who have some say in their flight choices. I call these men and women “marginal” travelers because they are in a position to choose schedule over loyalty and must be incentivized to stick to one carrier.

Free high-speed internet may do exactly that. Speaking for myself, I would be far less likely to deviate from United if it offered consistent and free high-speed internet (I spend several hundred dollars per year on in-flight internet). There might well have been no Alaska/American trip last weekend, where the internet failed on both flights.

CONCLUSION

Delta may see a short-term loss in ancillary revenue if it makes onboard wi-fi free, but it will reap the rewards of a happier and more loyal frequent flyer base. This will drive even more revenue than from selling wi-fi and therefore this move strikes me as a smart one.

(H/T: Rene’s Points)

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article How Aircraft De-Icing Works
Next Article Help Me Plan My 737 MAX Trip With My Two-Year-Old…Or Not?

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Airline Stocks

    Mixed Financial Results Paint Murky Travel Picture In 2025

    May 4, 2025
  • American Airlines CEO Vision

    American Airlines Staff Bonus As Out Of Touch As Management

    January 26, 2025
  • election travel

    Report: Americans Avoiding Travel During Election Week

    October 27, 2024

4 Comments

  1. Alvin Reply
    March 13, 2019 at 11:43 am

    DL flier here, frequent business traveler (consultant). The bane of my existence is having to buy wifi passes on every flight I’m on and expense individually to different clients based on the project I was traveling for. Would love to see this integrated into ticket price – would simplify my life – and that of countless other consultants and business travelers – immensely.

  2. Mattt Reply
    March 13, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    If they made it very easy to connect to and reliable, I would 100% shift business because of it.

    On domestic flights, wifi is the most important thing to me. AA makes it ridiculously complicated to connect (and reconnect over and over each flight). I’m 23… I know how to work technology; I can’t imagine how older people deal with it.

    If I could walk onto a plane and be connected until I walk off… that’s HUGE. Bake that directly into a fare where I don’t have a separate receipt to expense for each flight or the monthly gogo bill, even better.

  3. Brian Reply
    March 14, 2019 at 3:45 am

    Alvin, get a T Mobile premium phone contract and the wifi is free. Then you can just expense that fee a basic overhead.

  4. Steve Reply
    March 14, 2019 at 2:49 pm

    I am a Delta Diamond Medallion member and have been every year since the inception of the Diamond program. I am a consultant who flies domestically for business and frankly, I never use wifi on airplanes. That said, I might use it if it were “free” but raising ticket prices to pay for it doesn’t really make it free. Delta’s fares are already higher than their mainline competitors, e.g., United, in my experience. Ultimately, those fares are paid by my clients and their travel reimbursement policies come into play. So, depending upon how much of a fare premium Delta charges, “free” internet that I cannot unbundle could actually cause me to fly other carriers.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • a inside of a plane with lights
    Review: Korean Air 747-8 First Class May 27, 2025
  • a screen on a plane
    My Highly Productive Daytime Flight To London On JetBlue May 27, 2025
  • Southwest Airlines Checked Bags
    Suicide: Southwest Airlines Eliminates Free Checked Baggage May 27, 2025
  • Spring Break JetBlue SAS
    Booked! A Transatlantic Getaway On JetBlue + SAS May 26, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • United Airlines Refresh Polaris Lounge Chicago
    First Look: United Airlines Reopens Renovated Polaris Lounge In Chicago (ORD) April 29, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025
  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.