Southwest Airlines rolls out free movie product across the WiFi-enabled fleet

DALLAS, TX, 2018-Nov-05 — /Travel PR News/ — Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) continues its mission to enhance the Customer Experience. Today (Nov 1, 2018), the carrier announced its switch from a paid movie product to a free movie1* product onboard its Inflight Entertainment Portal for a 100 percent free inflight entertainment experience on WiFi-enabled aircraft. The free movie1* product has begun to roll out across the WiFi-enabled fleet, with plans to offer to the majority of our Customers by the end of the week. Just last month, on select flights, free messaging2* rolled out to Customers looking to stay connected with friends and family during flight, and in May, Southwest® introduced its newest onboard partner, iHeartRadio®, giving Customers access to the digital streaming service and its vast library of music and podcasts, where available.

“The onboard experience is one of the most important elements of a Customer’s journey with us,” said Ryan Green, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Southwest Airlines. “Our research shows that a positive experience onboard the aircraft can greatly influence the decision to come back to Southwest. We listened to our Customers and are enhancing our already award-winning experience.”

The Inflight Entertainment Portal is offered across the Southwest fleet on WiFi-enabled aircraft. Customers can access the onboard entertainment options through their own personal device (mobile, iPad, tablet, or laptop) by turning on WiFi access, connecting to the “SouthwestWiFi” SSID, and navigating to www.Southwestwifi.com. It is not necessary to purchase WiFi in order to use the free inflight entertainment onboard. Customers should download the Southwest® mobile app to take advantage of free movies1*, Live TV3*, and TV Series1* content onboard. The Southwest app for iOS can be found in the App Store and for Android in the Google Play Store.

Customers can stay up-to-date on Southwest’s inflight entertainment offerings by visiting Southwest.com/WiFi. Check out which movies and TV channels are offered onboard, in addition to custom and exclusive content and TV series offered only to Southwest Customers.

FREE MOVIES1*
Make the flight fly by with some of today’s top movie releases. Enjoy up to 30 movies available on WiFi-enabled aircraft. View movies and live TV3* through the Southwest mobile app.

FREE MESSAGING2*
Stay connected with family and friends at 35,000 feet with free messaging2* via iMessage or WhatsApp. Free messaging2* is available on WiFi-enabled aircraft.

FREE MUSIC3*
Tune-out by tuning in to iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music and live streaming radio service, iHeartRadio, available to Customers as the onboard music offering within the onboard entertainment portal on select WiFi-enabled flights. Customers can enjoy their favorite musical genres including alternative rock, country, hip hop, R&B, Top 40 hit music, podcasts, and more. Customers who already have the iHeartRadio app installed on their devices will be able to play their personalized music and favorite podcasts directly from the app while onboard select WiFi-enabled aircraft. Those passengers who already subscribe to iHeartRadio’s All Access on demand subscription service also will have access to their entire music library and saved playlists as well as enjoy millions of songs and albums instantly.

ADDITIONAL INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT FEATURES
Customers who like to stay in-the-know on where they’re going can enjoy the Flight Tracker feature via the Inflight Entertainment Portal to stay on top of arrival times. Customers can check the current weather and even get a few tips on local hot spots via the City Guide.

HIGH-FLYING INFLIGHT WIFI – $8
If you want to be productive during your flight, you can purchase our inflight WiFi for $8 a day per device on WiFi-enabled aircraft. Price is subject to change. May not be available full duration of flight. In order to provide top-notch WiFi experience, we prohibit access to certain high-bandwidth applications and websites, including Netflix, HBO GO® and VoIP. We also prohibit access to certain obscene or offensive content.

INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT DISCLAIMERS
*Available only on WiFi-enabled aircraft. Limited-time offer. Where available.

$0 Movies/$0 on-demand TV content
1To view movies and select on-demand TV content, download the Southwest app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store before your flight.

$0 Messaging
2Messaging service only allows access to iMessage and WhatsApp (must be downloaded before the flight).

$0 Live TV/$0 Music
3Due to licensing restrictions, on WiFi-enabled international flights, Free Live TV and iHeartRadio may not be available for the full duration of flight.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
In its 48th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 58,000 Employees to a Customer base topping 120 million passengers annually. Southwest became the nation’s largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak travel seasons, Southwest operates more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 99 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. Southwest has announced its intention to serve Hawaii, subject to requisite governmental approvals.

Southwest coined Transfarency® to describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free® to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified circumstances), and there are no change fees, though fare differences might apply.

Book Southwest Airlines’ low fares online at Southwest Airlines or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

Contact:

Phone: 214-792-4847, Opt. 1
Email: swamedia@wnco.com

SOURCE: Southwest Airlines Co.

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