Sky Industry News

Delta has heavily invested in seatback IFE, with about 90% of its customers engaging with the screens during flights. “And when I say interactions, I don’t mean they click ‘continue’. I mean they select something, they start a piece of content, they watch the moving map, they’re interacting with our Delta brand,” said Ekrem Dimbiloglu, managing director of customer experience for Delta Studio & Wi-Fi.

Following the domestic rollout of the Delta Sync ecosystem for SkyMiles members — accessible via T-Mobile-sponsored Viasat-powered free Wi-Fi — Delta extended personalization to seatbacks. This includes a streaming partnership with Paramount+ offering guests aged 18 and older free trial access for up to 24 hours. Passengers can continue viewing this content on their mobile devices post-flight during the trial period.

“I think all of us in our daily lives today experience Netflix and Disney+ and the like and all of that is personalized to us today. We expect an experience on the ground that’s personalized. You don’t really expect that traditionally when you get on an airplane,” Dimbiloglu said. Delta aims to change this expectation.

As part of its latest software release for over 330 aircraft, Delta introduced ‘My Flight’ via Delta Sync seatback as a comprehensive source for day-of-travel information including real-time flight tracking, connecting flight status, 3D route maps, and airport maps for wayfinding. Seat numbers are also displayed prominently on screens to assist passengers during boarding.

Delta Sync seatback will notify customers when free Wi-Fi is available for their personal devices. Additionally, passengers can use their mobile devices to provide flight-specific feedback through a new survey QR code on Delta Sync seatbacks.

Despite offering free Wi-Fi and expanding its digital services internationally, consumption of seatback entertainment remains strong. “We’re seeing that access to Delta Sync seatback improves the overall inflight entertainment experience,” said Julieta McCurry, VP of in-flight entertainment and connectivity strategy at Delta. “And access to free Wi-Fi hasn’t cannibalized the demand for seatback content... consumption of seatback content has increased from 2023 to 2024.”

Delta's creative content curation benefits from its partnership with Touch Inflight Solutions.

Looking ahead, tighter integration between passengers' connected devices and seatbacks is planned. “So there are two Delta Sync products... They are both Sync products because you are signing in with your SkyMiles credentials into both and having a personalized experience,” Dimbiloglu explained at APEX TECH.

“Our goal as we think about the next several years... is to sync these products together," he added.