Amazon Leo secures deal to install satellite internet on 500 Delta aircraft.
Delta Air Lines announced a partnership with Amazon Leo to install low Earth orbit satellite internet on 500 aircraft, with deployment beginning in 2028. The technology is intended to provide high-speed, low-latency internet for passengers, enabling activities like movie streaming and video calls. The agreement expands on an existing business relationship where Delta utilizes Amazon Web Services for cloud migration.
Key Takeaways
- Amazon's low Earth orbit satellite technology will be installed on 500 Delta aircraft.
- Deployment is scheduled to begin in 2028, aiming to provide passengers with high-speed, low-latency internet.
- The agreement expands Delta's relationship with Amazon, which has included migrating 600 applications to AWS since 2020.
- Delta states nearly its entire global network now supports streaming-quality internet, with transpacific routes to be added by fall 2026.
Why It Matters
This commitment for 500 aircraft signals Delta's strategy to use LEO satellite technology to meet passenger demand for high-bandwidth activities like video streaming. The deal expands the airline's relationship with Amazon beyond back-end cloud migration on AWS to a core, passenger-facing service. This integration shows a single technology provider supplying both operational infrastructure and customer experience enhancements. The key metric to watch will be the initial performance and passenger uptake on the first equipped aircraft when deployment begins in 2028.
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