Last month Alaska Airline rolled out Alaska Beyond with the introduction of new food options, new slimline seats with power on nearly all B737, and a new inflight streaming entertainment option. During the initial role out, Alaska celebrated the new IFE option by allowing all customers in all class of services to receive all IFE streaming options free of charge! The service was scheduled to start charging customers for streaming entertainment option Feb 1, but now Alaska has decided to delay the up-charge until April 2015, when the streaming option is installed nearly fleet wide. By waiting until April to charge for this new service, Alaska is ensuring all customers have similar inflight experiences before offering it to some and charging them for the luxury of streaming entertainment. It also allows more customers to sample the new offering for free!
Alaska Airlines today announced it will continue to offer free premium inflight entertainment directly to customers’ personal electronic devices for two more months, in addition to the more than 100 titles of free content that are available all the time, to all passengers, as part of the new Alaska Beyond™ experience.
All content, including premium movies and TV shows, will be complimentary through March 31, 2015. Starting April 1, customers can still enjoy free access to a wide selection of complimentary custom curated content and purchase premium movies and TV shows starting at $1.99.
The new entertainment service is available today on more than half of Alaska’s mainline aircraft and will be equipped on nearly all of Alaska’s all-Boeing fleet by April 2015.
In addition to new streaming options, today announcement also brings much welcome news of new IFE tablets that will be offered on Alaska Airline flights beginning 2/1. The new Microsoft tablets will replace the bulky digi players of yesteryear and feature more IFE options which includes movies, TV, XBOX games, music, digital magazines, and easy Internet access on WiFi-equipped flights. The icing on the cake is that the tablet is provided for free to first class customers and Alaska Airline’s highest elite group, MVP Gold 75Ks! Just remember, the entertainment options on the tablet are free/included in the cost, but internet on the devices requires a gogo account or and incures additional charges.
Additionally, beginning Feb. 1, Alaska will also introduce new Inflight Entertainment tablets powered by Microsoft. The tablets will be available to rent on long-haul flights for $8-10 and will feature movies, TV, XBOX games, music, digital magazines, and easy Internet access on WiFi-equipped flights.The rentable tablets will continue to be offered at no charge to First Class customers and MVP Gold75Ks.
“Our customers tell us they love our new, free, inflight entertainment service, and we’re listening. We’re excited to continue offering our premium content – like mainstream movies and TV to reward customers for trying out Alaska Beyond Entertainment,” said Halle Hutchison, Alaska’s managing director of brand marketing.
Alaska Airline continues to prove that they have their customers and frequently flyers in mind, and today’s announcement confirms that Alaska has their customer’s back, ensuring that every flight is comfort and North of expected!
Since publishing this article all BYOD movie streaming is now free on all Alaska Airlines flights!
