Delta is making good on its commitment to bring its new Delta Sync seatback IFE experience to more aircraft. The US major has updated IFE systems aboard hundreds of tails, as it works to make each passenger’s seatback screen feel more like the personalized smart TV in their living room.
Day-of travel information — such as seat numbers and flight information — is now part of the Delta Sync seatback IFE experience. On the content front, updated seatback screens are highlighting Delta Studio content in “new and intuitive ways that weren’t previously possible,” the airline said earlier this month, adding:
The dynamic multi-tile home screen, along with content and collection spotlights, puts Delta’s industry-leading, hand-picked content front and center, offering customers a more prominent and accessible viewing experience. BBC News has also joined the lineup of global networks available on live TV.
The new software update — described by Delta as “smart TV-like” — debuted a year ago on an Airbus A321ceo and has since been been expanded to more than 330 aircraft. Delta said its Airbus A319s, A320s, A321ceos, Boeing 757s and some Boeing 737-800s have been upgraded, representing roughly 40% of the carrier’s total IFE enplanements.
Delta has long invested heavily in seatback IFE, and with good reason: some 90% of its customers interact with the screens in-flight, Delta managing director of customer experience, Delta Studio & Wi-Fi Ekrem Dimbiloglu revealed earlier this year during an APEX TECH conference in Los Angeles.
“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,” he said.
Consequently, after domestically rolling out the Delta Sync ecosystem of tailored digital services and experiences for SkyMiles members — accessible to personal devices via the T-Mobile-sponsored, Viasat-powered free Wi-Fi — it made sense for Delta management to extend personalization to the seatback, including through an interesting streaming partnership and integration with Paramount+ that gives guests aged 18 and older free trial access for up to 24 hours. Passengers viewing this content on the seatback screen can, for instance, transition to the mobile experience and avail of the content post flight for the duration of the trial.
“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,” said Dimbiloglu. Delta is now trying to change that.
Delta Air Lines managing director of customer experience, Delta Studio & Wi-Fi Ekrem Dimbiloglu with APEX/IFSA CEO Dr. Joe Leader at APEX TECH 2024. Image: Mary Kirby
As part of its latest IFE software release for more than 330 aircraft, the carrier’s new ‘My Flight’ experience via Delta Sync seatback is billed as a “one-stop-shop for all day-of-travel related information, including real-time flight tracker, connecting flight status, 3D route maps and airport maps for wayfinding”.
Additionally, seat numbers are now prominently displayed on the seatback screens to help customers find their seats during boarding.
Delta Sync seatback will now inform customers when free Wi-Fi is available for their personal devices, said Delta of the 330 upgraded tails.
Moreover, customers can now use their mobile device to provide flight-specific feedback via a new survey QR code on Delta Sync seatback.
Interestingly, even as Delta has rolled out free Wi-Fi and its Delta Sync ecosystem for SkyMiles members’ devices, and is also now expanding that rollout to international aircraft, consumption of seatback entertainment has not dulled.
“We’re seeing that access to Delta Sync seatback improves the overall inflight entertainment experience, with SkyMiles Members who log in reporting higher satisfaction than those who don’t,” said Delta VP of in-flight entertainment and connectivity strategy Julieta McCurry in a 3 September statement.
“And access to free Wi-Fi hasn’t cannibalized the demand for seatback content. The opposite, in fact — consumption of seatback content has increased from 2023 to 2024. Customers increasingly want a multi-device experience like they’re used to at home.”
Delta’s creative content curation is aided by its partner, content service provider Touch Inflight Solutions.
Going forward, Delta sees an even tighter integration of the Delta Sync experience available on passengers’ connected devices and the seatback, with Dimbiloglu providing some guidance at APEX TECH:
“So there are two Delta Sync products and again remember Sync just means that it’s personalization powered by membership, right. By SkyMiles membership, that’s the definition of Delta Sync. They are both the Sync products because you are signing in with your SkyMiles credentials into both and having a personalized experience.
“But they’re not umbrella synced together. I’ll say they’re synced, but not synced together. Our goal as we think about the next several years is 100% is to sync these products together. So what you do on the Wi-Fi portal is gonna be seen on the IFE and we’re going to use IFE data that you have as you think about the Wi-Fi experience. So that’s for sure coming.”
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