JetBlue Airways has announced plans to be the first major domestic carrier in the U.S. to accept Apple Pay in the sky, making mobile payments at cruising altitude simple and speedy.
Apple Pay gives customers an easy and secure way to pay for onboard purchases of premium offerings. Those with an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and soon Apple Watch can use Apple Pay to purchase premium offerings such as EatUp snack boxes and à la carte food options from the EatUp Café, premium beverages, onboard amenities and Even More Space seating.
"The sky is definitely not the limit when it comes to mobile payments with Apple Pay," said Marty St George, senior vice president, commercial, JetBlue. "Customers want an easy and fast transaction when they decide to make an on-board purchase so that they can get back to enjoying their flight."
To enable Apple Pay in the air, JetBlue will deploy iPad minis and NFC-enabled cases to more than 3,500 inflight crewmembers. In addition to the cases with Apple Pay compatibility, each iPad mini will be loaded with a custom-designed iOS app -- The Inflight Service Assistant -- which will give inflight crewmembers access to customer manifest and flight data to provide the best experience possible to JetBlue customers.