DISH teams up with Southwest and borrows iPad 2 on Wi-Fi enabled flights
The satellite TV provider Dish teams up with Southwest Airlines, as it was announced hours ago. The new Apple iPad 2 lending program will allow the customers to use an iPad and watch live TV programs during their flight. The iPad 2 loaner program applies to Southwest customers flying on WiFi supported planes inside Southwest terminals in Chicago-Midway International Airport (MDW), Denver International Airport (DEN) and Oakland International Airport (OAK). There will be about 200 provided iPads at each of the three airports, as it was officially confirmed.
“With the holiday travel season fast approaching, we want to give travelers the chance to relax and enjoy their favorite programming, whether in the air on Southwest or on the ground through DISH anywhere,” James Moorhead, marketing chief of DISH explains. “Through our partnership with DISH, Customers have the opportunity to enjoy free live TV on Wi-Fi-enabled flights.” adds Kevin Krone from Southwest. Dish will give passengers the opportunity to borrow an iPad 2 tablet from its “Watch TV on the Fly” library.
The passenger can sign in for DISH service at home, borrow an Apple iPad 2 when boarding and keep it during the whole flight to watch free live programming. Since Southwest had been charging USD 5 a day for a similar service, now the customers would also be able to use their own devices to watch certain live TV networks for free on the Southern planes due do DISH promotion through the end of the year. Meanwhile, the FCC proposed expanding in-flight broadband connectivity and that faster Wi-Fi could be coming really soon, a final decision the matter is still awaited.
A similar program that allows passengers to watch programming on iPad mini tablets was developed by Hawaiian Airlines and it appears that iPad and other similar tablet devices are not hazards to safety during a flight, as the recent FAA report claims.
Source: Dish
