Great news for daily fantasy sports players, sports enthusiasts, and frequent flyers alike.
While traveling thousands of miles in the air to and from your chosen destination, you can now cure your daily sports picks fix.
Through a new partnership announced on Wednesday by DraftKings Sportsbook and Delta, eligible passengers aged 21 and older can now participate in SkyPicks, a free in-house sports prediction contest designed to provide an entertaining sports experience mid-flight.
The midweek addition kicks off today and is now accessible on all U.S. domestic, Wi-Fi-equipped Delta flights. Once on board, customers can access the experience via the Delta Wi-Fi service and participate in free-to-play contests while flying.
Although there is no real money being wagered or legit financial risk involved, when a customer opens SkyPicks, they will be asked to sign in with their existing DraftKings account or to create a new one to join that day’s contest.
“At DraftKings, we believe interaction with sports shouldn’t begin and end with the game itself—it should extend to every moment fans care about,” said Jeremy Elbaum, Chief Commercial Officer at DraftKings, in a press release.
SkyPicks is set to launch with MLB contests and plans to add NFL matchups later this year. The games will be available on personal devices such as cellphones, laptops, or tablets, not directly on seatback screens.
The daily contest will revolve around questions such as who will score first, the winning team, and a final-score tiebreaker.
After answering this series of sports-related questions, customers will appear on a leaderboard that rewards the highest scores with a chance to win Delta Gift Cards for their next trip.
“Collaborating with Delta gives us the opportunity to reimagine what sports engagement can look like while traveling, bringing innovative ways for fans to stay connected to the games they love—even when they’re in the air,” Elbaum added.
As part of its daily inflight entertainment lineup, Delta currently offers live sports broadcasts and comprehensive coverage.
In a bid to enhance its appeal to sports-focused passengers, the airline could use SkyPicks as a launchpad to advance the integration of prediction markets mid-flight.
“For many of our customers, that includes sports. SkyPicks brings that passion onboard in a fun, free-to-play way, giving SkyMiles Members another way to engage with the games and conversations they love while they fly, “ said Ranjan Goswami, Chief Marketing and Product Officer at Delta.
