DALLAS — Dallas-based Southwest Airlines will spend $2 billion on customer perks such as faster wireless internet, larger overhead bins for carry-on luggage and USB plugs at every seat for charging devices as it prepares for a travel boom.
Southwest Airlines began testing some upgraded Wi-Fi hardware this month that allows more customers to access faster internet connections on planes. The test is on just 50 planes using the equipment from hardware maker Anuvu that will increase internet bandwidth onboard by tenfold. Now the company says it will have the enhanced internet on 350 planes by the end of October.
“Top of our list is giving our customers reliable connections in the air to those things that are important and accessible to them on the ground,” said Ryan Green, Southwest’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, in a statement. “We’re investing in our onboard connectivity and bandwidth available to each customer with upgraded technology that’s now installing across our existing fleet, a strategy to diversify our WiFi vendors on upcoming aircraft deliveries, and plugging Southwest customers into in-seat power to keep them charged while in the air.”
