Delta rolls out onboard Wi-Fi

American-based carrier Delta Airlines has announced that is has begun to roll out onboard Wi-Fi facilities for its planes.Six aircraft within the US have already been fitted with connectivity, with a view to rolling it out across the entire fleet through 2009.The service will work through the Gogo system, which will allow passengers to use smartphones and personal digital assistants to access the internet during their flights.

However, they will still not be able to make phone calls as this was deemed too distracting for other travellers.

Tim Mapes, Delta’s senior vice-president of marketing, said the introduction was a response to frequent passenger requests.

“Next year when Gogo is available on our entire domestic mainline fleet, our customers will have access to the most extensive Wi-Fi network in the sky,” he added.

Delta Air Lines claims to operate services to more worldwide destinations than any other airline and offers flights to 500 destinations in 105 countries.

This includes flights to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Dubai, among other cities.