Amazon Teams With Delta to Offer Passengers in-Flight Connectivity

Amazon has inked an agreement with Delta to bring faster Wi-Fi to the airline’s flights.

The partnership, announced Tuesday (March 31), will see Amazon install its Leo satellite technology on hundreds of Delta Air Lines planes, with an initial launch of 500 aircrafts starting in 2028.

The companies said in a news release that this effort builds on an existing collaboration between Delta and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The companies say they plan to integrate AWS, Amazon Leo, other Amazon technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) “to enhance the customer experience across the entire travel journey” by letting passengers do things like stream movies or TV shows or stay connected to friends, family or coworkers.

Andy Jassy, Amazon’s president and CEO says the arrangement will bring faster in-flight Wi-Fi to millions of Delta travelers each year.

“People increasingly want to stay connected wherever they are in the world, and Leo’s speed and reliability is going to have a big impact for businesses, governments, and consumers,” he said. “It’s going to make the in-flight experience so much better, and it’s going to change what’s possible while traveling.”

In another Amazon news, PYMNTS wrote recently about the company’s rivalry with Walmart amid changing consumer shopping partners.

Findings in the March edition of the PYMNTS Intelligence “Share of Wallet: Amazon vs. Walmart” report indicate the modern consumer cannot be thought of as one coherent decision-maker.

“Instead, there are two psychologically distinct shopper personas: a disciplined survival optimizer and an aspirational reward-seeker,” PYMNTS wrote. “Walmart’s model says you can trust that you’re getting a good deal, while Amazon’s model says you can get what you need immediately, with minimal effort.”

The tension between those propositions will likely shape the next phase of competition. And crucially, consumers are not picking one company over the other universally. Instead, they are shifting between them depending on context.

A household might turn to Walmart for weekly essentials and bulk purchases, while making Amazon their source for urgent needs or specific items.

“The battleground is not exclusive loyalty, but share of occasions,” PYMNTS wrote.

“Still, even with resilient spending, growth is increasingly coming from share shifts rather than absolute expansion,” the report added. “In other words, Amazon and Walmart are competing not just to grow, but to capture a larger portion of a consumer wallet that is no longer expanding as rapidly.”