Free In-Flight Movies For All Southwest Airlines Passengers
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Put away your credit and debit cards. All passengers traveling on WiFi-enabled Southwest Airlines planes will no longer have to pay a $5 fee to watch in-flight movies.
The Dallas-based carrier announced Thursday that free movie access has already rolled out in part of the fleet and should be available to a "majority" of customers by the end of the week.
Southwest doesn't have seat-back screens on its planes. Passengers watch movies on their personal smartphones, laptops, tablets or other WiFi enabled devices and now they won't have to purchase WiFi in order to use the inflight entertainment.
"Our research shows that a positive experience onboard the aircraft can greatly influence the decision to come back to Southwest," said SWA VP and Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Green. "We listened to our Customers and are enhancing our already award-winning experience."
The airline said up to 30 movies, through the Southwest mobile app, will be available. The free movies are in addition to a selection of free live television channels and free digital music streaming through iHeartRadio.
The free entertainment offerings do not include access to in-flight WiFi for surfing the internet or checking e-mail -- there's still an $8 charge for that.