Delta Air Lines Chief Executive delivered the keynote speech at Tuesday's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, introducing an array of technical marvels that the carrier is working on for the future.
But what caught most people's attention was the discussion of free Wi-Fi, and who will get there first.
"Wi-Fi should be free on all flights," Bastian said at the annual highly regarded convention. "I'm confident we will reach that goal within the next couple of years at speeds as fast as on the ground."
Bastian, who oversees the country's most profitable airline, told the CES crowd that he believes Delta has the technology and the people to get aviation's holy grail - the onset of free WiFi.
But he also introduced four products that will likely see inception first.
"As the airline industry enters its second century, we see tech as the tool to continue to innovate," he said.
The tech items on his agenda included:
- A new mobile app the airline envisions as a digital concierge, with more detailed boarding alerts and increased tie-ins with ride-sharing company Lyft.
- Delta is trying a pilot program at Detroit Metro Airport this summer in which electronic information you see, such as gate directions and lounge information, is relevant to you. Volunteers will swipe their boarding pass at the parallel reality display post and each will see personalized messages as they walk past the same screen.
- A new app where fliers can start free in-flight entertainment on the Delta app while in the boarding area, then finish the show or movie on the plane.
- Artificial intelligence will be added to tools that pilots and ground personnel use to help the airline make better decisions during storms and other bad weather.
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