Southwest Plans 1Q10 Fleet Roll-Out for In-Flight Wi-Fi

Southwest Airlines says it is on track to start rolling out satellite wi-fi service from provider Row 44 across its fleet in the first quarter of 2010.

This fall, Southwest will start certifying its full fleet for the planned fleetwide roll-out of the Row 44 satellite service. The airline has been testing the service on four aircraft since February and says it has received fantastic customer feedback on the product.

“We have concluded our testing for inflight wi-fi and are very happy with both the technical performance of the system and the response of customers who have used it,” says Dave Ridley, Southwest Airlines’ senior vice president of marketing and revenue management. “We are pleased to be continuing with our plans to offer satellite-enabled broadband access through California-based Row 44.”

Southwest Airlines has quite a number fo specially themed and painted aircraft in its fleet. This one is 'California One', painted to honor the state of Californbia

During the testing phase, says Southwest, its customers have been using the service for everything from e-mail 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.

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