Southwest To Solicit RFPs For Inflight Wi-Fi

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly, during the carrier's first-quarter earnings call yesterday, said the carrier soon would solicit requests for proposals to explore offering inflight wireless Internet access.

Kelly said Southwest is seeking to outfit a prototype with such service within the next nine months. A Southwest spokesperson today would not say which companies the carrier would solicit in its requests.

The move is part of a larger Southwest strategy to seek new sources of passenger revenue, Kelly said.

Vice president of marketing, sales and distribution Kevin Krone recently told Business Travel News that Southwest is exploring new add-ons and revenue streams that don't "create hard feelings from our customers." Krone said Southwest would explore new offerings, as opposed to following some other airlines in monetizing offerings that currently are free.

"What else can we add of value that customers would be willing to pay for?" Krone said. "What we don't want to do is convince ourselves that Coke actually is an add-on."