Southwest Airlines Entire 737 Fleet to have Row44 wi-fi

Southwest Airlines 737-7H4 N901WN (32545/2462) arrives in
 Los Angeles (LAX) sporting the Row44 Satelite wi-fi dish.
 (Photo by Michael Carter)

US low-cost giant Southwest Airlines has opted to equip its entire Boeing 737 fleet with Row 44's high-speed, Ku-band-based Internet solution, in a move that will step up competition in the US in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFE&C) sector and gives added credibility to startup Row 44.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted permanent authority to Row 44, a crucial award achieved by the California-based firm after a lengthy battle with a would-be rival played out in FCC documents.

Row 44's system is currently installed on four Southwest 737s. In a statement this morning Southwest says it will this fall "be moving to the next step of certifying Southwest's full fleet".

It plans to begin to rollout of the in-flight Wi-Fi solution on the rest of its fleet starting in the first quarter of 2010. According to Flightglobal's ACAS database, Southwest operates a total 545 737s, a mixture of -300s, -500s and -700s. It also holds orders for a further 91 737-700s.

Pricing for in-flight Wi-Fi has not yet been announced by Southwest. The carrier has been testing a variety of price points for the service and says it will continue to do so through the end of 2009.

"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 Southwest senior vice president of marketing and revenue management Dave Ridley.

"We are pleased to be continuing with our plans to offer satellite-enabled broadband access through California-based Row 44." Row 44 CEO John Guidon says the company "is thrilled to be the in-flight Wi-Fi service of choice for one of the most customer-focused airlines in the world".

(FlightGlobal.Com)