Friday, October 29, 2010

Southwest Airlines Sets Wireless Pricing

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has finally set fleet-wide pricing on its wireless access for passengers, the firm said Thursday. Southwest said it has decided on a charge of $5 per flight for any device or flight length for Wi-Fi service, after testing a variety of pricing plans for its Wi-Fi services. Southwest, which now has 32 planes with Wi-Fi capability, said it will also offer a few free sites, a flight tracker, games, and shopping to users who access its Wi-Fi network. Southwest has been testing wireless on its planes since 2009, and now plans to have 60 planes installed by year end and its entire fleet by the end of 2012. Southwest also said it will start to email its passengers ahead of checking into flights, if there will be Wi-Fi access available on a flight.