Delta Air Lines is turning to Amazon for high-speed in-flight WiFi
Amazon's Leo satellite service will initially cover 500 Delta aircraft, with speeds projected to be three to five times faster than current service
Brandon Bell / Staff
Delta Air Lines has signed an agreement with Amazon $AMZN to bring the tech company's Leo satellite internet service to its flights, with an initial rollout covering 500 aircraft beginning in 2028.
Amazon Leo uses a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit to deliver internet access. The Wall Street Journal reports that the new service is expected to deliver speeds roughly three to five times greater than Delta's existing in-flight internet.
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CNBC reports that narrow-body jets serving primarily domestic routes will be first in line, a group that includes the airline's on-order Boeing $BA 737 Max 10s, along with select existing 737s and A321s. Delta Chief Marketing and Product Officer Ranjan Goswami told CNBC that upgrading the platform opens the door to new commercial possibilities, since improved technology would allow Delta to refresh entertainment content — including film catalogs — more quickly and offer a broader selection.
According to CNBC, Amazon Leo has placed roughly 200 satellites into orbit and has produced additional units ready for future launches. Amazon's long-term goal is a full constellation of around 3,200 satellites capable of providing coverage to commercial, government, and individual customers.
"People want faster speeds, they want more bandwidth, they want to share all their video and photos from their trip," Goswami told CNBC. "Expectations are just rising every day."
Delta already offers free Wi-Fi to SkyMiles members through a partnership with T-Mobile $TMUS and also works with Viasat and Hughes for in-flight connectivity. The airline said more than 163 million SkyMiles members have connected to its in-flight Wi-Fi service to date.
The Leo deal extends an existing relationship between Delta and Amazon. Since 2020, Delta and Amazon Web Services have migrated nearly 600 of Delta's applications to the cloud, Delta said.
"This agreement gives us the fastest and most cost-effective technology available to better connect the world today," Delta chief executive Ed Bastian said in a statement.
The move positions Delta against a growing bloc of carriers that have committed to SpaceX's Starlink platform; the Wall Street Journal notes that United Airlines, Alaska Air Group, and Southwest Airlines are among those already in that camp. JetBlue has also committed to deploying Amazon Leo connectivity, having struck its own agreement with the company for part of its aircraft.