JetBlue to begin accepting Apple Pay for in-flight payments next week
Some frequent flyers will soon be able to use Apple Pay to order drinks or upgrade their seat for extra legroom, as U.S. airline JetBlue announced on Tuesday that it would start accepting Apple's mobile payment service on select flights next week.
The first Apple Pay-equipped flights will be transcontinental affairs between New York and California, with all flights ready to go by June, according to USA Today. The new functionality comes as part of a wider rollout of iPad mini tablets to JetBlue cabin staff, after pilots were given iPads in 2013.
The crew cabin tablets, with credit card readers integrated into a protective case, will e-mail receipts to customers rather than generating a printed copy. Customized software on the tablets will also allow crew members to identify frequent fliers or passengers traveling on their birthday, and the airline hopes to soon gain FAA certification to eschew paper copies of its hefty flight attendant manual in favor of digital versions loaded onto the iPads.
JetBlue executive Rachel McCarthy said that Apple Pay would be the only mobile wallet accepted at this time. Consumers using Google Wallet or other competing services could take advantage of mobile payment convenience "down the road."
"Somebody else doing it always puts pressure on the other guy," said Apple software and services chief Eddy Cue, discussing the possibility of Apple Pay being rolled out to more airlines. Cue also noted that Apple Pay will eventually be adopted by other transit operators, like municipal rail systems, but that those deals "tend to move slower than you and I would like" thanks to regulation and funding.
"In our world, we really do want to replace the wallet at some point in time, and Apple Pay is the start of that," Cue added.
The first Apple Pay-equipped flights will be transcontinental affairs between New York and California, with all flights ready to go by June, according to USA Today. The new functionality comes as part of a wider rollout of iPad mini tablets to JetBlue cabin staff, after pilots were given iPads in 2013.
The crew cabin tablets, with credit card readers integrated into a protective case, will e-mail receipts to customers rather than generating a printed copy. Customized software on the tablets will also allow crew members to identify frequent fliers or passengers traveling on their birthday, and the airline hopes to soon gain FAA certification to eschew paper copies of its hefty flight attendant manual in favor of digital versions loaded onto the iPads.
JetBlue executive Rachel McCarthy said that Apple Pay would be the only mobile wallet accepted at this time. Consumers using Google Wallet or other competing services could take advantage of mobile payment convenience "down the road."
"Somebody else doing it always puts pressure on the other guy," said Apple software and services chief Eddy Cue, discussing the possibility of Apple Pay being rolled out to more airlines. Cue also noted that Apple Pay will eventually be adopted by other transit operators, like municipal rail systems, but that those deals "tend to move slower than you and I would like" thanks to regulation and funding.
"In our world, we really do want to replace the wallet at some point in time, and Apple Pay is the start of that," Cue added.
Comments
It's such an easy no-brainer for the credit card companies with Apple Pay. You're seeing the same slow rollout with merchants on Apple Pay as you are with car makers and Car Play. It's an issue of cost to integrat. For the CC companies it was next to nothing and the risk reduction more than covers the cost.
I guess if I'm going to get nickel-and-dimed, it might as well be with an Apple product.
For ApplePay to work you must have WiFi, does JetBlue provide free WiFi?
ApplePay uses NFC technology for the transaction and does not require cell or wifi to be on.
http://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/2k52qi/does_apple_pay_require_internet/
http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/152037/does-apple-pay-require-internet-connection
What seems really odd though is why Apple didn't include NFC antennas on the newest iPads so those could be used as POS terminals for ?Pay. Seems like a no brainer.
Doesn't the vendor need an internet connection? How does the payment get approved?
I'll miss all those flights where they could not get their card readers working and said 'They'll be on the house, we can't take cash.' regarding the cost of a couple of Scotches.
ApplePay uses NFC technology for the transaction and does not require cell or wifi to be on.
http://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/2k52qi/does_apple_pay_require_internet/
http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/152037/does-apple-pay-require-internet-connection
How dare you know the facts before you type.
... does JetBlue provide free WiFi?
Yes, as well as free live TV and XM satellite radio, but Wi-Fi is not required for ?Pay.
Those systems only work over the continental US. Many of their flights go to the Caribbean and Latin America / South America. When live TV is not available, movies are free.
JetBlue already accepted credit and debit cards using handheld devices. The card information was stored locally until it could be uploaded. ?Pay is no different.
Apple Pay does NOT require any kind of Internet connection...
Apple isn't enforcing exclusivity. In order to use Google Wallet you have to have an Internet connection (at least once per day)... that's pretty inconvenient on an airplane...
This kind of application is probably the biggest boon to credit card security that Apple Pay provides. I really think that wait staff/servers who personally handle our credit cards are a huge risk to our security. Granted, NFC payment protects from major data breaches from retailers too, and that's a significant threat.
Another note is that it's pretty funny seeing it typed as Light Gray Square Pay on my machines :P
Maybe there's an app for [I]that[/I].
*(warning gratuitous link)
I thought once you set your pin to never expire you didn't need an internet connection?