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Southwest CEO admits the airline’s first attempt at in-flight Wi-Fi was subpar

Dennis Schaal

Photo Credit: Southwest Airlines believes it has its Row 44 Wi-Fi reliability problems resolved, and expects to begin marketing it in earnest this year.  Row 44

Skift Take

Some Southwest passengers have long complained about the spottiness of its Wi-Fi, and now CEO Kelly concedes that the reliability of Row 44 Wi-Fi service hadn't been up to the airline's standards. Nothing more frustrating for business travelers than funky Wi-Fi.

Now that Southwest Airlines has Wi-Fi and TV from Row 44 installed on 400 aircraft, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly concedes the airline's Wi-Fi reliability "was not where we wanted it to be in prior years." Hence, Kelly says, Southwest didn't put much marketing into the service. Asked to comment on Kelly's stance, Robbie Hyman, a Row 44 spokesperson, agreed that there indeed had been a problem, saying: Reliability is a key metric for Southwest, and they were indeed an early adopter

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