Delta Air Lines is reportedly planning to fly its Boeing 717 fleet without functional inflight WiFi this summer pending a system upgrade. The airline’s 717s are currently equipped with older Intelsat air-to-ground hardware, but this is set to be replaced by a next-generation Hughes Fusion satellite system.

Delta has a fleet of eighty 717 aircraft, which are among the oldest airframes in its entire mainline fleet. The aircraft are likely to fly the majority of Delta’s summer schedule without WiFi ahead of a ramp-up in installation work during the fall and winter.

Delta Boeing 717s Will Go Without WiFi This Summer

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

As first reported by aviation insider JonNYC on X, passengers flying on the airline’s subfleet of 717s can expect to go without in-flight connectivity for most of this year. Citing a post on popular aviation forum FlyerTalk, a recent bulletin distributed to Delta’s 717 pilots warns that the aircraft’s dated Intelsat WiFi system will be decommissioned ahead of the peak summer season. According to this post, the Intelsat system will go offline sometime in May ahead of the carrier’s rollout of a new in-flight WiFi system.

The new Hughes Fusion system will be fitted to all 80 of Delta’s 717s, but the retrofits won’t pick up pace until the tail-end of this year. As it stands, only one of Delta’s 80 717s has the Hughes system installed. This means that most 717s won’t have any WiFi onboard for several months. The carrier is planning to have its entire 717 fleet equipped with the next-generation WiFi solution by the end of the year. Simple Flying has reached out to Delta to confirm this news and will update this story accordingly.

How Much Better Will Delta’s Boeing 717 WiFi Be?

Credit: Shutterstock

The current system equipped on Delta’s 717 fleet was developed by Intelsat and relies on air-to-ground technology. With the rise of reliable satellite WiFi systems, Intelsat’s technology is now outdated and no longer meets the high-bandwidth demands of the modern traveler, particularly with products like Starlink around.

Intelsat’s (formerly Gogo) air-to-ground system can provide very basic functionality, but it can often suffer from blackouts or poor connectivity. The new Hughes Fusion utilizes multi-orbit satellite tech by combining GEO and LEO satellites, delivering speeds of a similar quality to a home internet system. This will allow passengers to enjoy high-bandwidth connectivity in the sky, enabling online activities like video streaming or gaming with ease.

Perhaps more importantly, the system is available gate-to-gate, which means travelers can get connected as soon as they board the plane, rather than waiting for the aircraft to reach 10,000 feet. High-speed onboard internet is becoming an increasingly expected amenity onboard commercial flights, with airlines across the world rolling out free WiFi for their customers.

Related

New Milestone: Delta Air Lines Equips 1,000th Aircraft With Sync Seatback & Free WiFi

The fleet is getting even better.

All About Delta’s Boeing 717 Fleet

Credit: Shutterstock

As per data from ch-aviation, Delta’s fleet of 717s has an average age of over 24 years. The carrier acquired all of its fleet from AirTran Airways via Southwest Airlines, with the latter opting to get rid of them in favor of becoming an all-737 airline.

Delta welcomed its first 717 in 2013 and has continued to fly the type today, deploying the jet primarily on short-haul domestic routes. Although Delta has since built out an extensive Airbus A220 fleet, its 717s remain a core part of its network. The type was initially scheduled for retirement in the first half of the 2020s, but is expected to keep the jets operational until the end of the decade.

Delta has successfully kept hundreds of older-generation aircraft flying, including the Boeing 717, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767. Although these aircraft types are not as efficient as next-generation models, because they are already paid for, their value to Delta has been immense.