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Delta to add faster satellite-based Wi-Fi on long-haul flights

A traveler on Delta Air Lines waits for her flight in Detroit. The carrier has announced plans to install satellite-based wireless internet on many long-haul flights.
(Charlie Riedel / AP)
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Starting next year, passengers on Delta Air Lines’ long-haul domestic flights and routes to Latin America and the Caribbean will get to log on to a faster satellite-based wireless Internet.

The new system replaces an older air-to-ground system, giving passengers 20 times the bandwidth to stream movies, music and other entertainment.

The new system, built by Itasca, Ill.-based GoGo Inc., is expected to deliver peak speeds of 70 megabits per second, faster than some home cable Internet connections, according to GoGo.

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Delta said some of the funding for the Wi-Fi upgrade comes from the record profits the airline has reported over the past several months, thanks to lower fuel prices.

Boosting Wi-Fi speeds makes good business sense. About 66% of travelers say the availability of Wi-Fi on a plane influences what airline they fly, according to a 2014 survey of more than 1,000 adults by Honeywell Aerospace.

To read more about travel, tourism and the airline industry, follow me on Twitter at @hugomartin.

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