jetBlue A320-232 (c/n 1257) N508JL "May the Force be With Blue" arrives at Long Beach Airport (LGB/KLGB) on November 5, 2012.
(Photo by Michael Carter)
JetBlue Airways Corp. will be the first major U.S. carrier to accept Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay for onboard purchases, a move that could speed drinks and snacks to fliers’ seats and that will likely be followed by other airlines.
Starting next week on select transcontinental flights, passengers will be able to use their iPhones and other Apple devices to pay for food, beverages and even seats with extra leg room, the New York-based carrier said in a statement.
Transactions should be faster because passengers often have their mobile phone at hand instead of having to retrieve a credit card from a wallet or purse that may be stashed in an overhead bin. Apple Pay, introduced in September, already accounts for $2 of every $3 in purchases using contactless mobile-phone payments across the three major credit card networks, Apple said last month.
“Mobile devices are an obvious choice for payment in the future,” said Jay Sorensen, president of aviation consultant IdeaWorksCompany in Shorewood, Wisconsin, said today. “This will be the way of the world at some point.”
The service will debut on routes between New York and Los Angeles and San Francisco later this month, the airline said. It will expand to additional flights in March and to all of the network by June.
JetBlue will provide iPad minis to more than 3,500 flight attendants as part of the program. The devices will include a special case to accept both Apple Pay and credit cards.
(Mary Schlangenstein - Bloomberg Business News)
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