Delta Air Lines continues to flesh out its (potential) partnership with DraftKings’ sports gambling service. It will be legal, the company promises, but there are still a lot of missing details.
Delta
Major expansion coming for Delta Premium Select
Passengers won’t pay for more space on planes. This is the commonly accepted mantra and driving logic behind the ongoing “densification” efforts to squeeze more seats onto planes. And, for the most part, that’s proven true. A growing subset of travelers are, however, willing to pay more. Delta Air Lines’ Premium Select will expand across the widebody fleet to capture even more of that revenue.
Mobile messaging to be free on Delta flights
Delta and Gogo will let passengers stay connected for free on board starting on 1 October. The pair will make the Mobile Messaging service for iMessage, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and other services available at no cost to passengers.
Gogo’s Got China
Travelers headed over China on Delta Air Lines will be able to remain online with Gogo’s in-flight internet service thanks to a license agreement reached with the Chinese government. British Airways and Air Canada passengers are likely to benefit, too, with connectivity installs on their fleets in the coming years.
Delta invests in China Eastern
Delta’s sphere of influence over other global airlines continues to grow. The latest move is a 3.55% stake in China Eastern. It provides Delta a leg up towards future joint venture operations, should Open Skies come to pass but is not without some interesting quirks.
Delta signs as Gogo’s largest 2Ku customer
Delta and Gogo are teaming up to dramatically expand in-flight internet connectivity options. More than 250 planes will have faster service covering more of the globe. That’s great news for passengers.
Wifi on international flights: Present and future
Who is winning the race to provide wifi on international flights? Probably the consumers, with United Airlines following and Delta close behind. American is a distant 3rd among the major US carriers right now.
Gogo, Virgin Atlantic partner for connectivity upgrade
Get ready for faster in-flight internet service on Virgin Atlantic flights. Gogo’s 2Ku system will be retrofit into the existing fleet. Still open questions on timing, however.
Inside a Gogo ATG4 installation
There’s a lot of work which goes in to putting the Gogo hardware on to an airplane. Take a look inside a Delta 737-900ER as the kit is installed. Hard to believe that the first thing they do with a brand new aircraft is rip it apart like that.
The tale of three in-flight internet services
It is not often that one gets to test multiple in-flight wifi providers on the same day. I guess I can say I got lucky in that regard. Getting to use three different services within a 10-day span made for some good “comparison shopping” so to speak.