As you may now know, Southwest bucked the in-flight WiFi trend when it chose Row 44’s satellite solution over the air-to-ground service selected by several of our competitors. Choosing this cutting-edge technology meant a delay in installation but, in doing so, we are in complete control over the Customer Experience and able to provide a robust service at a great value.
Today, we are pleased to announce that we are officially in the process of installing WiFi on our fleet! As of this post, we have 13 activated aircraft and we are adding more aircraft every week. By the end of this year, we plan to have more than 60 WiFi planes crisscrossing the Southwest system!
We will have more exciting WiFi announcements coming in the fourth quarter including pricing and the unveiling of a newly designed portal that all WiFi Customers will be able to access free of charge
Comments
Finally!!!
I only fly SWA and was considering trying another due to the hours and hours spent during the work week not being able to communicate and then getting slammed with hundred's of e-mails on arrival. Great move!!
MCO ----> ISP (Orlando to Long Island) a few days ago $7. Was worth it to keep busy ;) I'm hoping instead of drink coupons they send wifi coupons lol!
The night before last, I was excited to read the email SWA sent alerting me that my upcoming flight was going to be on a WiFi enabled plane ... then I saw the price: $7. Considering that the flight is ~50 minutes from wheels up to wheels down (PHL-MHT), and that you can't use electronic during the first 5-10 minutes nor the last 10-15 minutes, that would leave me about 25-35 minutes of usage time. Assuming that I might get 30 minutes, this is not worth the $7. I would consider paying $7 on a longer flight (~2 hours), but where I'm only going to get 30 minutes of usage - No Thanks! I hope you are still testing the waters on the pricing, or are considering a flat monthly rate for your frequest travelers. Turns out I had to change my flight plans, so I wasn't on the flight, even so, still not sure I would of even tried it for the novelty at that price.
I tried the WIFI from Oakland to Chicago last week and paid $7. It worked just fine but is not free. I would also like to know which planes will have it in advance.
love the new surfing - any chance you can go the next step and include the TV signal?
Let’s see some quick math. 60 planes by the end of the year and they have 13 done so far so that means 47 more plans in about 16 weeks or about 3 per week. As of 5/23/10 there were 541 planes in service so (541 - 13) / 3 = 176 weeks = 3 years 20 weeks = May 2013 for a completion date. By then the competition (Aircell) will have completed a rollout to the next generation of wireless (4G) and will provide greater bandwidth at a significantly lower price. Wireless technology evolves nearly as fast as computer technology. What is cutting edge today will be outdated and need to be replaced about 3 to 4 years from now.
Don't get me wrong I really want to have wifi service and when I was a flight once with the service it was great. They just picked the wrong company and the wrong technology. It will work great on overseas flights but I don't think they will be flying overseas anytime soon. I also really question the viability of Row 44 since they lost Alaska Airlines. SW is essentially underwriting the entire company at this point.
BTW, did anyone consider the additional fuel costs related to the drag from the fuselage bulge? I'm sure it's only in the several percent range but every little bit counts. Also there must be some affect on rudder control albeit slight.
Virgin is free I tried them out last weekend. SFO to las, was great, no check in seating and free dish tv in every seat!
I will be flying Southwest to Chicago on September 23, which has recently been announced as "Mad as hell!" day by a group opposed to absurd and often hidden airline fees.
http://www.madashellabouthiddenfees.com/
I definitely NOT mad as hell about Southwest. In fact, I am happy as a lark. Unless there is no other choice, Southwest is the only airline I will fly on domestic travel.
Happy as a Lark
AHHH - the freedom to surf above the country.
LF - sorry about that. We are trying to alert Customers in advance if they are scheduled to be on a WiFi plane but, unfortunately, plane swaps happen. I hope you find yourself on a WiFi plane soon.
Estimated completion date for installation is end of 2012. As the number of WiFi-enabled planes increase so will awareness of the product (it's still very new for Employees at SWA too) and the odds of you finding yourself on one.
Angela
Manager Product Development, Southwest Airlines