Alaska Airlines says wireless test ‘positive,’ will raise drink prices

Alaska Airlines said preliminary results of a test of its wireless service on one of its planes in the last month were “overwhelmingly positive.”

The airline said it hasn’t decided what it plans to charge when the service is instituted across its fleet later this year. But it will “listen closely to our customers to find the right price that is both competitive with other airlines and fits comfortably within our passengers’ budgets,” said Steve Jarvis, Alaska’s vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience, in a statement. He added that 96 percent of passengers who used the service said they would use it again. Alaska is using satellite technology created by Row 44, of Westlake Village, Calif.

Alaska Airlines also announced that it will raise drink and food prices next month. Effective May 1, the price of alcoholic drinks and food baskets will go up from $5 to $6.

Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) of Seattle, flies more passengers in and out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport than any other airline.

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