Southwest Airlines announced today that it would be testing a satellite-based in-flight Wi-Fi system on one of its flights with the service to go live next Monday. Three other planes are to be equipped by next month, says SWA. But the service will remain in beta for several months.
Here’s the real kicker, folks. The service will be free while it’s being tested. When the service is out of beta, CEO John Guidon says it will cost less than $10/day. And Row 44, the satellite operator based in Westlake Village, CA, says that low price is possible.
Satellite-based service means it’ll work over water unlike Aircell’s service that is limited to over ground use. But without a hands-on test, we won’t know for sure how well this satellite-based service works compared to ground-to-air. Anyone flying on SWA today?
via USA Today
I was a fan of Southwest long before I started working for a company that did business with them… My fandom has not decreased.
Their people and practices shame other airlines. Last year I had a weather-induced 7+ hour delay on a Southwest flight, but was never angry or frustrated due to the way the Southwest folks kept everybody (over 1,000 people waiting for flights) informed. I heard one (1) person curse during that entire time. The next week a flight on American was delayed 1 1/2 hours, with NOBODY available to explain what was happening, whether the estimated departure time was a good estimate, etc. I was more pissed after the AA flight than Southwest.
It’s no surprise to me that Southwest is putting this service out at a reasonable price. It will also not be a surprise to find that it works as advertised.
Anyone heard yet, which flights? I’m flying between San Jose and LA today.
I’m on one of the flights, commenting from 30,000 feet as I type. Amazingly nice service. Wish all planes had this standard.
Oh, and I’m taking the 3:55p San Diego to Chicago flight.