With the single-aisle fleet conversion coming to a close, Delta Air Lines is now moving forward with installations of the Viasat inflight internet system across the long-haul fleet. The A350s the carrier acquired from LATAM are now being fit with the system. The first to carry the hardware entered service over the weekend.
The aircraft, N568DZ, returned to service after a two week break in Atlanta for the installation work. It is one of the former LATAM A350s that had been flying without Wi-Fi on board since transitioning to Delta’s fleet. Delta expects its entire mainline fleet (except the 717s) to have the updated hardware on board by the end of 2024.
Delta’s plan to offer fleet-wide, worldwide coverage with the Viasat system hit a small snag earlier this year when the first ViaSat-3 satellite failed to deploy correctly over the Americas. The provider believes it can address both the coverage and capacity challenges created by that hardware failure through a mix of mitigation measures.
Viasat has since determined it will have only 10% of the expected capacity from that satellite, though it does not anticipate troubles with delivering global mobility services overall, thanks to its acquisition of Inmarsat and other leased capacity. With the current hardware deployment, however, the available coverage footprint is somewhat limited.
Fortunately, the ex-LATAM A350s fly almost exclusively in markets where Viasat has its own satellites providing capacity.
Eventually the company expects that a single terminal on the aircraft will work across the satellites from both sides of the merger, but that remains a work in progress. It requires updates to the hardware on board (possibly delivered over-the-air) as well as adjustments in some ground station systems.
Separately, there are some indications as to progress with fitting the regional jet (and 717) fleet with an updated Wi-Fi solution, but no public confirmation as of yet. That work is expected to be complete by the end of 2025 when the current air-to-ground network is expected to be retired by Gogo.
A favor to ask while you're here...
Did you enjoy the content? Or learn something useful? Or generally just think this is the type of story you'd like to see more of? Consider supporting the site through a donation (any amount helps). It helps keep me independent and avoiding the credit card schlock.
Leave a Reply