Southwest Airlines Takes Next Step Toward Wi-Fi

Southwest Airlines and Row 44 are continuing plans to roll out Wi-Fi beginning in the first quarter of 2010. Beginning this fall, Southwest will be moving to the next step of certifying Southwest’s full fleet with plans to begin fleetwide rollout of the Row 44 satellite service in the first quarter of 2010.

The airline has been testing the service on four aircraft since February 2009 and has received fantastic customer feedback on the product. During the testing phase, customers have been utilizing the service for anything from email to streaming video.

Those interested in using the service during the test period have had the opportunity to log on to the service via their own personal Wi-Fi-enabled device (laptops, iPhones, Wi-Fi-enabled smart phones, etc). Additionally, the airline has been testing a variety of price points for the service and will continue testing price points through the end of 2009.