Delta Air Lines will begin installing Amazon Leo low-Earth orbit connectivity on an initial 500 aircraft starting in 2028, expanding the airline’s Delta Sync Wi-Fi and seatback platform through a deeper tie-up with Amazon.
Amazon said the service will provide high-speed, low-latency, gate-to-gate Wi-Fi and remain free for SkyMiles members on equipped aircraft.
That agreement extends Delta’s current connectivity stack. In the announcement, Delta said Amazon Leo will sit alongside its existing partnerships with Viasat and Hughes, and described the new network as part of a broader effort to match aircraft, route and onboard experience to the underlying connectivity system.
Delta said fast, free Wi-Fi is already available on more than 1,150 aircraft, with full fleet connectivity planned by the end of 2026.
The broader Delta Sync and AWS platform the deal sits inside
Delta says Delta Sync already ties Wi-Fi and seatback systems to SkyMiles logins, partner offers and day-of-travel updates, while the Leo announcement says Delta and Amazon plan to integrate AWS, AI and other Amazon technologies across the travel journey.
Delta also said its AWS relationship, which began in 2020, has already included the migration of nearly 600 applications to the cloud.
What Amazon Leo’s hardware delivers
Amazon’s hardware gives Delta a higher-capacity satellite option as it expands onboard connectivity.In a November product release, Amazon said Leo Ultra, the terminal that underpins its enterprise and aviation push, delivers download speeds of up to 1 Gbps and upload speeds of up to 400 Mbps.
Delta’s announcement post pointed to that upload capacity in particular, saying it would allow customers to send presentations or business files and share photos and video in real time while in flight.
The timing also places Delta within a wider airline shift toward low-Earth orbit satellite broadband. Southwest said in February that its first Starlink-equipped aircraft will enter service this summer and that the service will be available on more than 300 aircraft by the end of 2026.
Alaska said its Starlink rollout begins in 2026 and is due to be completed by 2027, with speeds of up to 500 Mbps. On the carriers’ published timelines, Delta’s first Leo installations will begin later than those rival Starlink deployments.
For Delta, Leo is part of a broader connected-experience stack that links broadband, loyalty, seatback entertainment and cloud infrastructure.
Delta said Delta Sync Wi-Fi has already reached more than 1,000 aircraft and logged more than 163 million sessions, while the Leo deal adds another layer to that existing system rather than resetting it.