The American SkyTeam and joint venture partner of Air France and KLM has been offering free Wi-Fi on most domestic flights for over a year. Now, this service is rapidly being expanded to its long-haul fleet. Since last month, most flights to France have been equipped with it, and this month, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom are being added. Starting in September, passengers from the rest of Europe may also be lucky enough to board a plane with free Wi-Fi.
Delta only provides the timing for when the rollout will begin for individual countries. However, they haven’t specified exactly when all travelers to and from Europe can expect free Wi-Fi. It is likely a matter of weeks rather than months. The activation for flights to and from France began in July, and it is almost complete there by now.
Although this is not the case initially due to technical reasons, normally, you will need a Delta SkyMiles account to connect to the internet onboard. Creating one is free, and it should not impact the accrual of miles (e.g. if you usually earn miles at FlyingBlue).
So far, I have only tested the free internet on domestic flights, where the speed was very good (although I didn’t do a precise speed test at the time). Of course, the connection depends on satellite availability. About an hour before reaching Alaska (this was already announced by the crew during takeoff), the connection dropped, and there could also be occasional dead zones over the Atlantic.
Conclusion
In recent years, free messaging on long-haul flights has become standard. Delta is taking it a step further by making the entire internet connection free. At a time when most airlines don’t even offer this in business class, this is a generous thing to do. If you have the choice between Delta or Air France at the same price, this is certainly a strong argument for flying with the Americans.
Cover Picture: Ditmar Lange