Delta Air Lines just showed United and American how to truly delight their customers

What do customers really want?

When it comes to airlines, this simple question has had answers that have changed over the years.

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Once upon a time, airline customers wanted comfort. In recent years, they have realized that this is not possible now. Unless they pay a disproportionate amount — for the most part — the amount.

Customer expectations have dropped in the direction of expecting flights to arrive on time — even as airlines align their schedules with hard-to-hide humor.

Or towards even hoping the flight won’t be cancelled.

However, if it’s a secret, airline customers really want airlines to actually keep their promises.

So try to say hello, Delta Airlineswhich only surreptitiously promises a gift aimed at the customer’s consciousness.

Four years ago, Delta CEO Ed Bastian expressed the belief that Wi-Fi should be free. On the plane, that is. He admits there are obstacles, mainly of the technological kind. You certainly don’t want to promise free Wi-Fi — something only JetBlue has achieved with relative success — and then incite customers to kvetching.

After all, none of the major US airlines have managed to offer free Wi-fi. Even if you have to pay — sometimes it’s as expensive as $40 — the quality of the signal can be, well, painful.

However, this is The Wall Street Journal persistent that, by 2023, “a substantial portion” of Delta’s planes will have free Wi-Fi. And this is Bastian Confirm the news at CES.

The airline has in trial for a while, using Viasat’s technology. (Intelsat partnered with T-Mobile to offer free wifi on various airlines, including Delta.)

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Recently, Delta offered free Wi-Fi to more premium frequent flyers. Yes, they may not be able to access Delta lounge these daysbut at least they can get free Wi-Fi in the air.

And now, you can too.

It’s worth wondering how free Wi-fi might influence a customer’s choice of airline. It seems that a significant percentage of flyers want to be online all the time they are in the air. (I, I am quite happy to be separated for a while.)

If it’s free, that’s a motivator. An equally good incentive, however, is whether it works or not, which still doesn’t always seem to be the case.

However, as airlines grapple with seemingly every element of customer service — often because airlines make revenue-driven, self-centred decisions — Wi-Fi Free, reliable, can make a significant difference between Delta and rivals like United and American Airlines.

This can be especially poignant for Americans, who have been adamant about removing screens on the backs of seats and encouraging passengers to use their own devices and stream entertainment. Which some can see profound myopia.

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Oddly enough, Delta always committed to using screens on the backs of seats, while United started tearing them apart and had a special switch to bring them back.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to keep passengers quiet. Or, as Allison Ausband, Delta’s director of customer experience, put it: “For us, when it comes to that in-flight experience, we want our customers to be as excited as they want to be in the air. .”

(Please don’t go there.)

If passengers are immersed in their own world, they may end up causing less trouble for the crew – or indeed, for other passengers.

Still, it’s exhilarating to see an airline make (relatively) big promises and take measurable steps to deliver on those promises.

This does not always happen. Some people may say that it doesn’t happen often.

However, what happens with airlines is that when Delta does something, others follow. Then it is possible that if the free Wi-Fi rollout is successful for Delta, its competitors will take the leap.

However, who will manage it well enough?

No, I know it won’t work Southwest. This is the technology we are talking about.