There's a strong possibility you'll be able to use Spirit Airlines' new Wi-Fi service the following time you fly with them.
Wednesday marked a significant accomplishment for the ultra-low-cost airline based in Miramar, Florida: the completion of the Wi-Fi installations on its fleet of vividly colored Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft.
For the time being, the airline's 31 Airbus A319s won't be connected.
Two service tiers will be available to passengers: a browsing tier with speeds starting at $2.99 and a streaming tier with speeds starting at $5.99.
According to Spirit officials, the dynamically priced Wi-Fi would peak out in the $15–16 area for lengthier flights.
The browsing tier has cost a flat $1 while the streaming tier has cost a flat $3 throughout Spirit's Wi-Fi test phase.
Higher prices were anticipated since, like all ULCCs, Spirit derives a size able percentage of its income from adding fees for amenities like seat selection and baggage.
Spirit Wi-Fi has been anticipated for a while.
The only American ULCC to provide the service, the airline initially agreed to a deal with Thales, a French connection provider, for its FlytLIVE system in 2018. By the end of the summer of 2019, the airline hoped to have fleetwide connectivity.
The replacement of particular aircraft's antennas caused a delay, which was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak.
During the testing period, reviews of Spirit's Wi-Fi have been largely favorable, and when the fleet switches to a new satellite in September, the service is expected to get much better.
According to Jeffrey Payne, vice president of development at Thales, download and upload speeds of up to 400 megabits per second and 100 megabits per second, respectively, are possible.
The service spans the whole of Spirit's route network, which extends all the way down to Lima, Peru.
Starting today, Wi-Fi can be purchased at Spirit.com throughout the booking process, on the Spirit app starting on August 10, or on any Spirit aircraft that offers it.
Currently, the cost is the same regardless of when the Wi-Fi is acquired, but in the long run, the business intends to provide clients a discount for doing so, as is the case with the majority of the extras it provides.
The business also intends to include Wi-Fi in its well-liked packages, which customers may purchase at the time of booking, but for the time being it will only be made available as a solo item.
Spirit's A319 aircraft are older aircraft that are now being reviewed by the business as it evaluates its long-term fleet plans, making them the Wi-Fi holdouts in Spirit's fleet.
Additionally, the airline's most recent A320neo deliveries will also go into service this summer, straight from Airbus and without Wi-Fi fitted due to strong customer demand.
This fall, that will happen.
Spirit is also considering whether to follow many other airlines in using their Wi-Fi to give their pilots access to real-time information about the weather and other operational issues using company-issued tablet computers.
Of course, Spirit is the subject of two conflicting purchase offers.
The only U.S. airline now providing free Viasat Wi-Fi is JetBlue, which intends to purchase the airline for $33.50 per share.
There is no Wi-Fi on board Frontier Airlines, which is attempting to merge with Spirit in a less lucrative but board-approved agreement.
The Frontier deal is scheduled for a vote by Spirit shareholders on July 27; a fourth postponement was announced early on Wednesday.
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