Southwest Airlines Offering In-Flight iMessaging for $2 Per Day

Southwest Airlines is offering passengers the ability to send and receive iMessages from their iOS devices in-flight for $2 per day. In-flight Wi-Fi access for all applications is available for $8 per device per day.

It's likely that the airline is opening up iMessage related ports to users who pay the $2, while users who pay more receive access to in-flight email, social networks and the like. For a limited time, all users receive access to 13 live television channels on laptops and iOS devices for free.

Imessagesouthwest

Beginning today, Southwest is enabling iMessage for $2 a day!

Any Apple user that has iOS 5 or later with the iMessage feature pre-loaded on their device can take advantage of this option. Now you can stay powered up and connected to friends and family like you never left the ground.

In-flight Wi-Fi is not yet available on all Southwest flights, but the airline has a Wi-Fi finder on its website so flyers can check if their aircraft will support the service.

Southwest Airlines flies within the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Thanks to MacRumors Forum member Lumpydog for the screenshot!

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17: What's New With the Cameras

Friday May 2, 2025 3:52 pm PDT by
We've still got months to go before the new iPhone 17 models come out, but a combination of dummy models and leaks have given us some insight into what we can expect in terms of camera changes. Apple is adding new camera features, and changing the design of the camera bump for some models. You might be skeptical of dummy models, but over the years, they've proven to be a highly accurate...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.5 Coming Soon, Here is What's New

Monday May 5, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
In its press release for the new Pride Band today, Apple said that iOS 18.5 is "upcoming," following more than a month of beta testing. We expect the iOS 18.5 Release Candidate to be released this week, and this should be the final beta version, barring any last-minute bugs or changes. The software update should then be released to the general public next week. iOS 18.5 is a relatively...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID

20th-Anniversary iPhone Will Reportedly Feature an All-Screen Design

Saturday May 3, 2025 9:20 am PDT by
Apple's former design chief Jony Ive long dreamed of an iPhone with a truly all-screen design, and his wish might finally become reality in a few more years. The Information today cited multiple sources who said that at least one new iPhone model launching in 2027 will have a truly edge-to-edge display. The device's front camera and Face ID system would both be placed under the screen....
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone Said to Have Two Key Advantages

Monday May 5, 2025 6:41 am PDT by
Apple plans to release its first foldable iPhone next year, according to several reporters and analysts who cover the company. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the foldable iPhone will offer two key advantages over other foldable smartphones. First, he said the foldable iPhone will have a "nearly invisible" crease when unfolded. This means the device's...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

iPhone 17 Air Expected to Have Battery Case Due to 'Worse' Battery Life

Saturday May 3, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
Apple's rumored iPhone 17 Air model will have "worse" battery life compared to previous iPhone models, according to a paywalled The Information report. In internal testing, Apple determined that the percentage of users who will be able to use the iPhone 17 Air for a full day without needing to recharge the device throughout the day will be between 60% and 70%, according to the report. For...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
Apple Watch 2025 Pride Feature

Apple Announces 2025 Pride Band, Watch Face, and iPhone Wallpaper

Monday May 5, 2025 6:08 am PDT by
Apple today announced its 2025 Pride Collection, including a new Apple Watch band, watch face, and a matching wallpaper for the iPhone and iPad. Ahead of Pride Month in June, Apple says its Pride Collection celebrates the strength and beauty of LGBTQ+ communities around the world. The new Pride Edition Sport Band is now available to order on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm,...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature 2

iPhone 18 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Under-Screen Face ID With Top-Left Camera Hole

Saturday May 3, 2025 9:19 am PDT by
Apple's two-generations-away iPhone 18 Pro models will likely feature under-screen Face ID, according to The Information. The paywalled report today cited a source who said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have only a small hole in the top-left corner of the screen, to accommodate the front-facing camera, with all Face ID hardware moved under the screen. With under-screen Face ...

Top Rated Comments

iEnvy Avatar
149 months ago
What a joke.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scott90 Avatar
149 months ago
The idea here is that if you only want WiFi for iMessage, you only have to pay $2. If you pay more, you get full-fletched access, including iMessage.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lumpydog Avatar
149 months ago
From my Southwest flight right now

Yep. Am on a Southwest flight now. See pic
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kyacker Avatar
149 months ago
What a joke.
I think the joke is how much information was missed or misleading in this article. I fly SWA weekly. Essentially they're giving you a way to pay $2 rather than the normal $8 to just get iMessages rather than paying full boat for wifi if you don't need it. Seems pretty fair to me if that's all you're looking for. Gogo inflight on the other airlines doesn't offer the same option. (monthly subscriber)

Also, you don't have to pay for wifi to get the television channels on your devices for free. Dish Network has been sponsoring the television channels for the last 3-5 months at no charge.

I'll look around to see the real number but it's my understanding that only a few of the 737-300 jets are the only that remain that don't have wifi. I haven't had a wifi-less flight on SWA in about 8 months. The article makes it sound like there aren't many with wifi.

Last, a-list preferred members get wifi for free. It's a great perk for frequent fliers and not offered by the other airlines...
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shardey Avatar
149 months ago
Wow, paying $2 to send kilobytes worth of data? I thought paying per text message was enough of a rip off.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DipDog3 Avatar
149 months ago
connected to a wifi network does not mean you are connected to the internet.

you connect to the plane's wifi network before you pay so now there will be an option on the splash screen to pay $2 and the only traffic allowed will be iMessage traffic.
Figure out what ports they opened up for iMessage, then open a ssh tunnel on that port so you can surf the entire internet for only $2.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)