AirTran to offer Boston-Baltimore travelers free WiFi

In the latest response to Southwest Airline’s decision to begin service out of Boston in mid-August, AirTran Airways will offer free WiFi from Aug. 1 to Sept. 1 aboard its flights between Logan International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Christopher White, an AirTran spokesman, said that the carrier’s freebie was intended to celebrate the fact that on Tuesday AirTran had completed outfitting its entire fleet for WiFi. But he also noted that it was a competitive move designed to catch the eye of much-coveted business travelers flying the Boston-Baltimore route, which has become “among the most competitive in the country.’’
AirTran’s offer marks the latest bit of fallout from Southwest’s announcement in mid-April that it would launch service from Boston to Chicago Midway Airport and to Baltimore on Aug. 16. About 10 days later, JetBlue Airways said that it would initiate daily flights from Logan to BWI on Sept. 9. In May, facing the prospect of increased competition on the route, Delta Air Lines said in May that it would halt direct Boston-BWI service.
While some Logan passengers will enjoy free WiFi for a while, AirTran now will be able to offer all its passengers the service for $5.95 on short-haul flights and $12.95 for longer ones.
Besides AirTran, most major domestic carriers have been racing to install WiFi on their planes. The service increasingly is viewed as a must-have to compete for business travelers. And some carriers hope that by installing WiFi they may eventually be able to shed on-board media equipment, which would cut the weight of planes, making them more fuel efficient, and free airlines from having to pay for licensing entertainment content.
Companies also have been increasingly looking to fees from services such as WiFi, checked bags, reserved seats, and other amenities to bolster sagging revenue.

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