Wi-Fi earned its “Delta wings” today as our first Internet-ready MD88 took to the skies. Engineers from Delta’s TechOps division and Aircell were onboard the aircraft to validate the system’s functionality. This was the first test flight of a Delta aircraft with Aircell’s Gogo broadband Wi-Fi system installed.
I received an e-mail from a colleague onboard at 12:33 p.m. EDT titled “Sent from 33,000 feet onboard WiFi a/c” with a 1Mb photo of the engineering team attached. Of course, everyone on the ground was incredibly excited.
So…with the first test flight a success, the next steps include additional testing and obtaining a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the FAA. Once the Wi-Fi system is certified, we’ll begin installs on additional MD88 aircraft in the fleet. This aircraft will begin flying with the activated system by the end of this year.
For more exclusive pictures check out our official Flickr account. Stay tuned as we target early December for a large-scale rollout of in-flight broadband Wi-Fi!
Chris
Manager, Global Product Development
In-Flight Entertainment
October 1st, 2008 at 3:49 pm
This is going to make so many people happy. Isn’t Delta the first airline within the US to get Wi-Fi ?
October 1st, 2008 at 8:38 pm
I hope I get it on my trip to Orlando in November.
Kind of sucks that none of the longer flights will have them until next year.
I got stuck doing a PR event with that airline with the silver planes because they have wi-fi to San Fransisco.
October 1st, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Well, Delta isn’t the first airline to actually get the Wi-Fi in the U.S. American was the first airline to launch the GoGo Wi-Fi service, however they only offer the service on their 767-200 aircraft. Delta on the other hand will offer it on its’ whole domestic fleet. I for one think this is one of the smartest investments an airline can make nowadays. I am definately going to use it faithfully!
As for offering it on longer flights, unfortunately it is impossible as of now. Aircell has set up towers throughout the United States similar to cell phone towers to offer service. They would have to set up towers in other countries in order to offer service in that country and that can take a ton of time in addition to regulatory approval to get the service approved. As of now, their main focus is on the U.S.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:45 am
Congratulations Delta! You’re flying Into the 21st Century.
This is so exciting. I will open my laptop. To think, I will have the Internet at my disposal when I fly. I can search all the travel info I want, or any other info for that matter. Or I can entertain myself with a movie or some sudoku.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
In order to improve my rating, let me add an environmentally friendly, smart business comment: Now that Delta is adding Internet access, maybe it is time to rethink the printing and publication of that mediocre in-flight magazine.
It, like all the other in-flight magazines, has become cliché, it is stuffed with innocuous ads that advertisers like but passengers abhor. It is time to save paper and the fuel it takes to fly these magazines around on thousands of planes each day throughout the year.
Instead, maybe Delta could get its content providers to put some of the airline’s important information somewhere on its Web site for the new users of this in-flight Internet to access while on the plane.
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
What’s the pricing plan for this? I missed it I guess.
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I have to disagree with the fifth comment (by Walkabout). I personally really like Delta’s Sky Magazine; I find it very interesting, as well as informative. I highly doubt that this Internet service will be free (if it is, that would be outstanding yet ignoring a potentially huge source of income), so passengers who need this information would have to pay for it. That’s assuming that everyone has a laptop, too.
If I was on a MD-88, didn’t have a computer, and I didn’t have time to charge my iPod which died while in a holding pattern above Atlanta onboard another MD-88 (no entertainment, remember; the Wi-Fi would be the only thing aboard this one particular aircraft, N908DL, for now), I would certainly want something to keep me busy. Biscoff cookies are good, but not enough to keep me entertained for 2 hours (okay, maybe they would ;).
Delta also makes a ton of money from the advertisements in the magazine (or so it seems). While it’s not enough to offset the costs of fuel, it’s better than nothing. Perhaps one solution would be to have the magazines available at the gate, and passengers that would like a copy can take one onboard. That way, fuel isn’t wasted carrying extra copies of the magazine, and extras could be saved for the next flight.
October 3rd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
@Delta/blog admin: How many MD-88s are there in total in the DL fleet? Just wanna figure out what’s the probability my plane would be the Wi-Fi-equipped one. Will you be adding it to the Shuttle jets too? I know it’s a short flight but with the business-person orientation of the Shuttle, it might be worth having it - and perhaps for free too (throw US Airways in the trash!).
October 4th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I am upset, you guys are planning to filter the wi-fi meaning certain websites will be blocked.
While I agree that VoIP type services should be blocked you should not block any websites or filter any websites.
I would like to use my time working on the plan using the wi-fi and not spend an hour of my 2 and a half hour flight how to circumvent the filter because a URL I have to go to contains the word SEX in it or something.
Delta has just lost Brownie points with me if they do indeed go ahead with the fltering.
If you are worried about people viewing explicit contect then sell privacy filters on the plan I am sure you can work a deal out with 3M?
But filtering the internet won’t stop them, I have been on flights where a person has watched porn via his or her laptop because they have it saved on their computer.
Bad bad bad idea, after a member on our board of directors hear about the filtering they are now considering switching the airline that we are made to use. I hope not as I gained status this year with Delta and it be a shame if it was all for not.
October 4th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
You’re gonna filter websites?!????? Ughh don’t do that. We can take care of ourselves. Why don’t you just make a policy that if someone on board legitimately takes offense to something on a passenger’s computer screen, that passenger is told to stop using his or her computer for the rest of the flight? HWGeek’s privacy screen idea sounds a little much, but if you can work out a deal, give those passengers window seats in the last row of the plane (maybe those JT8Ds back there will deter potential problem passengers…). And really, you don’t need a filter; people aren’t going to take their computers into the lavatory with them (!)… when that happens, then by all means go ahead and implement an Internet filter as quickly as possible (and make sure that aircraft gets an extra-thorough cleaning after the flight).
I’ll still love Delta just as much as before; relationships, after all, do have their ups and downs
October 4th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I’m happy and excited about this new product we are rolling out for our customers. It’s great we have another edge on our competition, however I foresee problems. Just like our Panasonic IFE system this is going to be a nightmare for the flight attendants when it doesn’t work. I want to know what’s gonna happen when the systems down and customers expect the service, and when our customers can’t connect for whatever reason what the FA’s are going to? Add Geek Squad to the FA’s title and job duties!
That’s my 2 cents
October 5th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Referring to No. 7 by Jayo Z: He is not correct about ad revenues for the magazines. First, the magazine is not published by the airline, so the airline doesn’t not control the advertisement. (It is probably the only revenue stream on the plane that the airline does not directly make money from).
The Sky is published by Pace Communications, which also publishes the magazines for United, US Airways, and Southwest. This company profits from the ad sales. I am guessing, but I think if the ad revenue is greater than a certain amount, then Delta get a percentage. Maybe Delta gets any annual fee. But with advertising in all paper media way down, I would guess that Delta is not seeing any money.
And with high fuel costs and airline companies trimming any weight they can, a magazine that weighs one half to three quarters of a pound per seat adds up to a ton (literally) of weight. At 200 pounds per plane, times 4,000 planes per day, the total is 800,000 pounds. That is a lot of paper to be flying around each day. (800,000 x 365 days = 292 million pounds a year. Ouch!)
So, you don’t pay for the magazine? Don’t be so naive. Those costs must be passed along to the passenger/customer. Personally, I would rather pay directly for Internet service that I want, than pay a hidden cost for a magazine that I don’t necessarily choose. You can read all that information online anyhow.
In any case, I am sure that Delta is smart enough to see the writing on the wall. It will eventually offer Internet service and the magazine will be eliminated, saving paper and fuel and helping with the costs of tickets.
Again, congratulations Delta, for bring the industry into the 21st Century.
October 5th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Referring to No. 7 by Jayo Z: He is not correct about ad revenues for the magazines. First, the magazine is not published by the airline, so the airline doesn’t not control the advertisement. (It is probably the only revenue stream on the plane that the airline does not directly make money from).
The Sky is published by Pace Communications, which also publishes the magazines for United, US Airways, and Southwest. This company profits from the ad sales. I am guessing, but I think if the ad revenue is greater than a certain amount, then Delta get a percentage. Maybe Delta gets any annual fee. But with advertising in all paper media way down, I would guess that Delta is not seeing any money.
And with high fuel costs and airline companies trimming any weight they can, a magazine that weighs one half to three quarters of a pound per seat adds up to a ton (literally) of weight. At 200 pounds per plane, times 4,000 planes per day, the total is 800,000 pounds. That is a lot of paper to be flying around each day. (800,000 x 365 days = 292 million pounds a year. Ouch!)
So, you don’t pay for the magazine? Don’t be so naive. Those costs must be passed along to the passenger/customer. Personally, I would rather pay directly for Internet service that I want, than pay a hidden cost for a magazine that I don’t necessarily choose. You can read all that information online anyhow.
In any case, I am sure that Delta is smart enough to see the writing on the wall. It will eventually offer Internet service and the magazine will be eliminated, saving paper and fuel and helping with the costs of tickets.
October 6th, 2008 at 12:58 am
Totally agreed with Walkabout. May be the best thing for Delta is to quit the mag and instead offer a limited web surfing for each passenger. In which the passenger will be limited to some selected sites or some streaming music and would have to watch ads on the way. This would attract customers to pay for Wi-Fi too. Definitely this is profitable than the mag for Delta.
October 6th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Walkabout…bite your tongue! I am a bit biased on the subject, but I’d argue that Sky is one of the best inflight pubs out there…and it’s the most widely-read inflight magazine in the industry.
We currently already offer Sky via the Web. Look out for a few of our favorite Delta Sky columnists blogging right here Under the Wing later this week as well.
Something to think about…not everyone will bring a laptop onboard and a big chunk of the short-haul fleet (MD88s and the regional jets) don’t have IFE. With that in mind, Sky does provide a diversion if a passenger doesn’t have their iPod or a magazine.
Also…there’s a lot of info in Sky that’s of real benefit to our customers…route maps, terminal maps, entertainment pages and (my favorite) the Delta fleet page.
Love the suggestion on ways to be greener and I definitely appreciate the feedback.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
I’m Pretty sure that PACE pays Delta for licensing their logos etc in the Magazine and may even pay Delta to have the magazine on board the plane.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
LarsErikNYC…pricing plan is $9.95 for flights under 3 hours and $12.95 for flights over 3 hours.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Jayo Z…The Gogo Wi-Fi product will be installed on the entire fleet of 114 MD88 — including all aircraft on the Shuttle routes.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Just wanted to address the filtering issue…
As part of our planning to launch Wi-Fi product on our fleet this year we made the decision to block content that few – if any – of our customers would question is appropriate to be viewed on our aircraft. Our focus is to achieve a balanced approach to providing information and entertainment onboard while blocking content that most, if not all, of our customers would find inappropriate.
Delta continuously listens to our customers and employees as part of the process for testing any new product. The launch of Wi-Fi is no different in that it has been, and will be, subjected to ongoing customer and employee feedback so that we can offer a product that matches the needs of our customers and employees.
Delta’s flight attendants are consummate professionals in managing situations onboard our aircraft. Our preference, however, is to enable our crews to focus on their primary roles of safety and providing excellent service to our customers.
By filtering content that few – if any – of our customers would question is appropriate to be viewed on our aircraft, we allow our flight attendants to remain focused on the work that is most important to our customers.
Finally, our friends at AA also announced this evening that they will filter pornographic content as well.
Chris-
October 21st, 2008 at 9:31 am
I am just surprised that Delta chooses the MD as the plane of choice for this service, while most other airlines seem to be phasing out their MD fleet because they are the least fuel efficient and most noise polluting planes around (apart from some really old 737/200’s and 717’s which Delta does not fly anymore).
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:34 am
In-Flight broadband is a great offering for Delta. Does anyone know if seat power will be supplied at every seat for laptops to use as part of the roll out for this plan?
December 10th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
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