Delta gives passengers free in-flight Wi-Fi access so they can go spend money on Amazon instead

Delta Air Lines this morning announced that it is providing in-flight Wi-Fi access to e-commerce powerhouse Amazon.com and Amazon’s mobile-friendly sibling site AmazonWireless.com free of charge.

The deal with Amazon expands Delta’s offer of free content and services for passengers who make use of its in-flight wireless Internet connectivity service, but I’m not 100% sure how useful this new addition really is.

In a news release, Delta touts the new ability for its customers to “shop online at 30,000 feet for things they want on the ground”, but I’m hard-pressed to find a decent use case for this apart from purchasing the odd e-book so you can avoid having to talk to that annoying person sitting next to you on the plane.

Seriously though, what could possibly be so urgent for you to buy that you absolutely, positively need access to Amazon.com in the middle of a flight?

Delta’s Wi-Fi portal, dubbed ‘Delta Connect’, also provides free access to real-time travel information, news content from The Wall Street Journal and People magazine and more. That, and access to social networks, is easier to understand.

Anyway, in the release the airline says it has more than 800 Delta aircraft equipped with in-flight Wi-Fi service powered by Gogo, and that it serves more than 160 million customers on a yearly basis.