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Southwest Airlines to test Wi-Fi
DALLAS, TEXAS February 10, 2009 8:56am 
• Edges into it with one plane • ‘Internet connectivity has been high on our list of priorities’ 
Bump on the top of the fuselage in front of the tail is the wi-fi antenna (SWA photo)
It’s found in airports nationwide and it might be found on the planes of Southwest Airlines if a small test works out.
The Central Valley’s largest volume airline says it will test high-speed broadband wi-fi Internet connections for passengers on one aircraft and is set to equip three additional aircraft by early March with the satellite technology.
Southwest Airlines is making the tests in conjunction with Row 44 and is also partnering with Yahoo to offer an in-flight homepage with destination-relevant content.
"Internet connectivity has been high on our list of priorities for quite some time," says Dave Ridley, Southwest Airlines senior vice president of marketing and revenue management. "We believe the aircraft-to-satellite technology is the most robust solution in the industry, and we look forward to the feedback from our customers."
When Southwest customers board the wi-fi enabled aircraft, they will be greeted with wi-fi placards and onboard instruction sheets. Those interested in using the service during the test period will have the opportunity to log on to the service free of charge via their own personal wi-fi enabled device such as laptops, iPhones and wi-fi enabled smart phones.
Cellular technology will not work with the wi-fi service.
The service is being offered on a trial basis, and has not yet received final FCC approval, the airline notes.
Southwest says the Yahoo in-flight homepage includes a one-of-a-kind flight tracker, as well as daily programming of local news and information. The new flight tracker will allow passengers to follow the plane's flight path, and view "fly-over" points of interest along the route, with images from Flickr.
The Yahoo!/Southwest homepage will be maintained by Yahoo, and will include destination-relevant content such as local events, weather and news, as well as destination guides that highlight top restaurants, attractions and shopping. Also featured are a number of games for wiling away the hours.
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