Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, told a standing-room crowd during his keynote here at the Consumer Electronics Show that free internet in the air was the last frontier of connected life.
He said it cost $1 billion.
Several aspects of which became clear during his talk were included at that cost.
One must be a member of Delta's SkyMiles loyalty program to be able to access freeWiFi.
Signing up will be easy if the passenger is not a member.
Delta's approach will include converting all of its screens to touch-responsive screens.
Delta will be an umbrella brand in the future. A collection of digital services, engagement opportunities and experiences will be part of it.
Delta's approach is to partner with other brands, some of which will be connected through the new Delta Sync entertainment platform, such as earning Delta SkyMiles with orders placed through the Starbucks app. During the first year of the Starbucks partnership, Delta expects one million SkyMiles to be signed up. Two weeks later, they hit that goal.
Delta's hope is that some of the screen time will be devoted to its sync partners, among them Paramount Plus, American Express, Resy.
He said that this is only the beginning. Retail, gaming, sports will eventually be part of sync.
It will be free for all planes that are capable. There will be more and more planes turning on. We will have it on all of our international planes by the end of the year.
The platform is expected in April.
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