JetBlue to Become First Airline to Accept Apple Pay In-Flight

Passengers on select JetBlue Airways flights will be able to use Apple Pay to purchase things in-flight starting next week, according to USA Today. It will become the first airline to accept Apple Pay in-flight.

JetBlue-Logo

Starting next week, passengers on select JetBlue Airways flights can use Apple Pay on their iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets to buy food, drinks and certain onboard amenities when the plane reaches cruising altitude. You'll be able to upgrade to available premium seats, too.

Eddy Cue, Apple's VP for Internet software and services, told USA Today that "somebody else doing it always puts pressure on the other guy" and that other airlines could follow suit.

JetBlue's flight attendants will have iPad minis outfitted with a special case that will accept both credit cards and Apple Pay. Starting next week, only intercontinental flights from JFK to Los Angeles and San Francisco will accept Apple Pay, with additional flights in March and plans for all JetBlue flights to accept the payment service in June. Like iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the upcoming Apple Watch will also work with the system.


Cue notes that expanding Apple Pay into areas like travel is important. "Most people would prefer not to carry cash or worry about cash. There's a lot of opportunity there," Cue told USA Today. Apple would like to expand to subways and public transportation, but Cue said working with local governments and gaining funding for those initiatives moves slower than they would like. He says the eventual plan is to completely replace the wallet, and that Apple Pay is only the start.

Apple has continued to work with third parties to expand Apple Pay's reach, most recently having ChowNow update nearly 700 food and restaurant apps with the payment service.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: JetBlue

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...

Top Rated Comments

ggt Avatar
142 months ago
Apple Pay really seems to be taking off...
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pnoyblazed Avatar
142 months ago
Apple Pay really seems to be taking off...

...I see what you did there
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
technima Avatar
142 months ago
Unlike Google Wallet you won't have to pay for inflight WiFi to use Apple Pay. Google Wallet requires that you use it with an internet connection at least once a day, Apple Pay doesn't.

https://support.google.com/wallet/answer/2466137?hl=en
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Arcady Avatar
142 months ago
With the U.S. finally getting Chip & PIN

We're not getting chip & pin, we're getting the inferior chip & signature.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dontwalkhand Avatar
142 months ago
Some UK supermarkets are trialling their own apps that link to your creditcard so I really can't see Apple Pay getting anywhere over here.

Certainly something I'm not bothered about and my friends with the iPhone 6 just wanted normal NFC.
Why not? Apple Pay will work with all of those existing NFC terminals. You guys already have a decent NFC terminal penetration. The whole thing about the supermarkets allowing you to link your own cards thing sounds like CurrentC that we are getting here at Walmart, and others. Just like how I don't see CurrentC stalling Apple Pay, it won't stall it in the UK either once available.

With the U.S. finally getting Chip & PIN, we have to replace all of the terminals anyway and pretty much everybody except Walmart and Best Buy will have it. (Though Walmart already has Chip & PIN, no NFC).

It's amazing last year I barely was able to tap my NFC card, now I'm able to pay with Apple Pay at 70% of places I shop at. The numbers are growing people.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mejsric Avatar
142 months ago


My understanding is that if you don't have a PIN, you won't need a data connection to pay with Google Wallet. The "once a day" requirement, I think, is just a security measure, but is not a requirement at the time of payment.
Its more about your purchased datas...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)