Will Offer Satellite-Based Service By Summer

Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines followed in the footsteps of cross-town rival American Airlines, and announced this week it, too, plans to test in-flight passenger Wi-Fi service this summer.

Unlike the Aircell-sourced system American plans to offer, however, Southwest's system will rely on satellite-signals, according to a report in The New York Times. The technology, provided by Row 44 Inc. in Westlake Village, CA, will fly onboard four 737s later this year.

Like American, Southwest plans to perform consumer tests following approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. An antenna mounted atop each aircraft's fuselage will send and receive signals to and from an orbiting satellite.

Satellite-based Wi-Fi offers additional capabilities over ground-based service-- though not all of those options will be used by Southwest. Both carriers will offer Internet access for email and web browsing... but the Row 44 system also allows cell phone and voice-over-IP calls. Due to concerns about passenger privacy, however, Southwest has no plans to offer those capabilities.

"Southwest has not embraced voice calling," said spokeswoman Brandy King. "Voice is not a direction we're taking."

The Dallas-based LCC joins a growing list of airlines planning to offer some form of in-flight Internet access. In addition to American, Virgin America also plans to install the Aircell system in some of its planes this year. JetBlue, Lufthansa and Qantas are also considering their options.

FMI: www.southwest.com, www.row44.com