Having issues with Delta wifi on recent flight

Wifi
1

I recently flew Delta and paid for in-flight wifi, but the connection kept dropping, pages wouldn’t load, and streaming was impossible. Customer service wasn’t very helpful afterward, and I’m not sure if I can get a refund or what I should try next time to make it work better. Can anyone share tips, fixes, or advice on dealing with Delta wifi problems and refunds?

2

Yeah, Delta wifi is hit or miss. When it misses, it misses hard.

Here is what usually works for refunds or credits:

  1. Use the right channel
    Do not argue with generic Delta customer support. Go to
    delta.com
    Help
    Comment or Complaint
    Choose In Flight Experience, then WiFi.
    Attach screenshots if you have them. Mention flight number, date, seat, and that pages did not load and connection dropped.

  2. Use the wifi provider too
    Delta works with providers like Viasat or Intelsat (used to be Gogo).
    If your receipt email came from them, go to their support page and submit a refund request.
    They often refund quicker than Delta, especially for full-flight failure or very poor performance.

  3. Use clear wording
    Short and direct works best:

    • “Paid X dollars for wifi on flight DL123 on MM/DD. Connection dropped every few minutes.”
    • “Speed under 0.5 Mbps, pages timed out, streaming impossible.”
    • “Requesting refund or SkyMiles credit.”
      Keep it calm and factual.

  4. Check if it was free wifi
    Many Delta flights offer free messaging or free wifi for SkyMiles members.
    If you paid when you should have had free service, mention that too.

  5. Be specific about performance
    If you ran a speed test, include numbers. Example:

    • Download speed under 1 Mbps
    • Upload close to zero
      Streaming needs around 5 Mbps stable for HD, so anything below that is trouble.
      Numbers help a lot with support agents.

  6. Use the app and your receipts
    If the charge is on your credit card or PayPal, screenshot it.
    If you bought through the portal on board, there should be an email receipt.
    No receipt makes refunds harder, but still try, using exact time and flight.

  7. If they refuse

    • Reply once and restate the issues.
    • If you used a credit card, you can dispute the charge as service not provided.
    • Keep it short and factual with the bank too.

For your own setup at home or office, if you want to test wifi quality before travel or streaming, a tool like advanced wifi analysis with NetSpot helps you see signal strength, dead zones, and real throughput. It will not fix Delta’s plane wifi, but it helps you avoid similar pain on your own network.

Short version for refunds:
Use the Delta web form, include flight details and performance issues, attach proof, and ask for either full refund or SkyMiles credit. Then also ping the wifi provider from your receipt. That two-track approach gets results most of the time.

1 Like
3

Had almost this exact thing on a Delta redeye, so yeah, you’re not crazy. Their wifi can be pretty rough when it decides it’s in “decorative only” mode.

@vrijheidsvogel already nailed the official refund routes, so I’ll skip the duplicate step‑by‑step stuff. A few extra angles that helped me:

  1. Time‑based argument instead of pure performance
    Don’t only say “it was slow.” Say how long you were effectively without service:

    • “Usable for maybe 5–10 minutes out of a 4‑hour flight.”
    • “Login page wouldn’t complete, so service was never actually delivered.”
      Agents respond better when it’s framed as “paid for full‑flight service, got almost nothing.”

  2. Leverage the “service not delivered” wording
    When you contact them (or your card issuer if it comes to that), avoid “bad wifi” and go with:

    • “Service not provided as advertised”
    • “Unable to use basic browsing functions”
      That moves it out of “you just didn’t like it” and into “they didn’t deliver the product.”

  3. Use the flight status and route as ammo
    Look up the flight on FlightAware or similar and mention if it was a normal flight with no big diversions. If it was routine and the wifi was still trash, that undercuts any “well, it’s satellite, sorry” excuse.
    I’ve actually replied once with: “Clear weather, on‑time, no routing changes. Wifi still unusable for the entire flight.” Got a credit after the second message.

  4. Push for miles, not always cash
    Slightly disagree with @vrijheidsvogel here: in my experience, Delta is more generous with SkyMiles than straight refunds. If you can live with miles instead of money back, say explicitly:

    • “If a full refund isn’t possible, a SkyMiles credit would be acceptable.”
      That sometimes flips a “no” into a “fine, here’s some miles.”

  5. Mention impact, not just inconvenience
    You don’t have to oversell, but a simple line like:

    • “I bought wifi specifically to work during the flight, and the connection issues prevented that.”
      gives your complaint some weight vs “I just wanted to stream Netflix.”

  6. Escalate once the right way
    If front‑line support shrugs, don’t keep arguing in circles. Reply once with:

    • recap of facts (flight, date, amount paid),
    • one‑sentence description of how unusable it was,
    • clear ask: “requesting refund or equivalent credit.”
      Then leave it. If that fails, that’s when I’d let the credit‑card dispute handle it.

  7. For future flights: sanity‑check your expectations

    • Streaming HD at 30k feet is always hit‑or‑miss, no matter what the sales page shows.
    • Treat wifi as “email, messaging, maybe some light browsing.” If it happens to be fast enough for video, that’s a bonus.
    • Do a quick speedtest early in the flight. If it’s totally unusable, screenshot that right away and plan to request a refund afterward. That first‑hour proof helps.

  8. At home: make sure it’s not your gear that’s flaky
    You obviously can’t fix Delta’s network, but it’s worth ruling out problems on your own devices so you know when the plane is actually at fault. A tool like advanced Wi‑Fi optimization with NetSpot lets you map signal strength, spot interference, and see real throughput on your home or office network.
    If everything’s solid on the ground and it falls apart in the air, you’ve got a stronger argument that the inflight service is the issue, not your laptop or phone.

  9. Short, search‑friendly summary for others with the same problem
    If you paid for Delta in‑flight wifi and experienced constant disconnects, pages not loading, or unusable speeds, you may be eligible for a refund or SkyMiles credit.

    • Document the problem with screenshots and timestamps.
    • Contact Delta via their “In Flight Experience / WiFi” form and clearly state that the service did not work for most or all of the flight.
    • If your receipt came from a third‑party provider like Viasat or Intelsat, submit a refund request there too.
    • If denied, consider one calm follow‑up, then dispute the charge with your card issuer as “service not rendered.”

TL;DR: Treat it as “product not delivered,” keep your messages short and specific, aim for either a refund or miles, and grab proof on future flights so you’re not stuck with “trust me, it was bad.”

4

Quick FAQ style, since @voyageurdubois and @vrijheidsvogel already covered the main playbook.

Q1: Is it even worth chasing a refund at this point?
Yes. Treat it as “service not delivered,” not “slow wifi.” If you had more than ~30–60 minutes of unusable service on a paid pass, that is reasonable grounds to ask for either a refund or SkyMiles. Even if Delta already brushed you off once, a single, clear follow‑up is still worth it.

Q2: What angle hasn’t been mentioned yet?
Both replies focus on formal channels and wording. One extra tactic:

  • Document pattern, not just one flight.
    If this has happened on multiple Delta flights, list them in one message:
    “On DLxxx (date), DLyyy (date), and DLzzz (date) the paid wifi did not function for most of the flight.”
    A pattern sometimes triggers a more generous “goodwill” response than a single‑flight gripe.

Q3: Should I complain in-flight next time or wait until later?
I’d slightly disagree with only handling it after the flight. If the portal has a help / chat option, try that while you are still in the air:

  • If they confirm “known issue on this aircraft” and cannot fix it, that note helps later.
  • Cabin crew are limited, but even a quick “they said the system was down” in your notes strengthens the “service not delivered” angle later.

Q4: What about credit card protections?
Both earlier answers mention disputes, but one nuance:

  • Check if your card has travel protections or digital goods coverage that treat unusable wifi as a covered service failure. Some premium cards are surprisingly flexible if you show: receipt + a short explanation + any evidence that you attempted to resolve with Delta or the provider first.

Q5: How to avoid wasting money on future flights?
Treat inflight wifi as “best effort,” but you can reduce the gamble:

  • Buy hourly instead of full-flight when available. If it is garbage in the first hour, you lose less.
  • If the portal provides a brief free trial or “check connection” screen, run that first and only upgrade if it looks at least somewhat usable.
  • Keep a basic offline plan: download work docs, Netflix episodes, emails to draft offline, etc.

Q6: Could my device or setup be part of the issue?
Usually the plane is to blame, but it is smart to rule out your end so you know when you have a strong claim:

  • Test your laptop / phone on multiple networks at home and work.
  • Tools like NetSpot are handy for this on the ground:
    • Pros:
      • Visual maps of signal strength so you can see dead spots.
      • Helps you confirm your device’s wifi adapter behaves normally in good conditions.
      • Good for optimizing channel selection and router placement at home.
    • Cons:
      • Only useful on networks you control, so it will not magically fix Delta’s system.
      • Some advanced features are overkill if you just need a quick yes/no check.

Knowing that your gear performs well with NetSpot or similar means that when Delta wifi collapses, you can confidently say it is their service, not your laptop.

Q7: How do your options differ from what was already posted?

  • @voyageurdubois focused on practical refund channels and using the wifi provider directly, which is spot on.
  • @vrijheidsvogel emphasized framing and miles vs cash. I’d add: if you fly Delta a lot, miles can be fine; if this was a one‑off trip, I would push harder for actual money back instead of miles that might sit unused.

Q8: Bottom line for your specific case
Since you already tried customer service and got nowhere, I would:

  1. Send one concise follow‑up via the formal “In Flight Experience / WiFi” path summarizing: route, date, amount paid, approximate time without usable service, and what you were prevented from doing (work, calls, etc.).
  2. Explicitly say: “I am requesting a refund to original form of payment. If that is not possible, a SkyMiles credit would be acceptable.”
  3. If the wifi provider is named on your receipt and has its own support, file a parallel claim with them using the same facts.
  4. If both decline and the charge is nontrivial, consider a calm dispute with your card issuer as “service not rendered,” attaching both rejections.

That combination usually gets you something back without needing a long back‑and‑forth.