JetBlue Will Offer Free Wi-Fi

JetBlue is rolling out free Wi-Fi in the sky. According to reports, the U.S. airline will offer complimentary Internet access onboard flights starting in 2013. At the Low Cost Carrier conference in London yesterday, JetBlue’s Chief Commercial Officer revealed the company will be hooking its fleet up with high-speed Internet access in the near future. The airline has also posted about this development on its blog

Even better, it’s likely JetBlue customers won’t have to wrestle with spotty signals and slow page load while flying. JetBlue is partnering with LiveTV and ViaSat, a company that provides satellite broadband services, to give its customers high-quality connectivity. According to an exclamation-laden copy of an internal company email posted on The Verge, “Our Wi-Fi will be lightning fast. In a series of tests, ViaSat’s staff was able to load 10 Web pages through our satellite service in an average of one minute, 18 seconds! The second-fastest service, commonly deployed by our competitors, took as long as eight minutes, 42 seconds!”

JetBlue confirmed to us in an email that it will, indeed, offer free Wi-Fi services in 2013, though the high-tech amenity may only be complimentary in the beginning. The carrier could start charging for the service once the roll out is complete. Reports CBS News, “A spokesperson for the airline also said that it was too early to determine if the company will eventually charge a fee for in-flight Wi-Fi.”

Is free, reliable Internet access enough of an incentive for you to book with JetBlue? Sound off in the comments!

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