JetBlue Becomes First Airline To Accept Apple Pay For In-Flight Purchases

Paying for in-flight purchases can be a pain. First you have to remember whether or not the airline accepts only cash or credit card, then you have to squirm around trying to find your wallet. JetBlue airlines is aiming to take the nuisance out of making purchases by being the first airline to accept Apple Pay as payment.

USA Today reports that starting next week select JetBlue flights will allow passengers to use Apple Pay to buy food, drinks and other in-flight amenities when the plane reaches cruising altitude.

When available, customers can also use the payment method to upgrade to premium seats.

“The sky is definitely not the limit when it comes to mobile payments with Apple Pay,” Marty St. George, a senior vice president at JetBlue, tells USA Today.

In order to accept the new payment system, JetBlue is swapping out older mobile payment terminals for specially outfitted iPad Minis with NFC-capable cases. For those passengers that don’t use Apple Pay, the airline will continue to accept conventional credit cards.

The iPads also include an Inflight Service Assistant app with information that helps flight attendants identify frequent fliers or passengers with a birthday.

USA Today reports that the payment process works similarly to what you might experience when using Apple Pay at a retailer.

After placing an order, the passenger simply raises their iPhone next to the flight attendant’s iPad Mini while pressing their thumb against the secure TouchID fingerprint button. When the transaction is complete, the passenger will receive a receipt via email.

For now, only JetBlue flights from JFK in New York to airports in San Francisco and Los Angeles will offer the payment option.

Additional flights are expected to be added in March, with all JetBlue flights expected to accept the payment method in June.

Officials with JetBlue say that passengers who use other mobile payment systems, like Google Wallet, will be able to use their preferred methods “down the road.”

Apple Pay takes to the skies via JetBlue [USA Today]

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