JetBlue and Amazon are now partnering to offer free in-flight video streaming. (JetBlue Photo)
JetBlue and Amazon are now partnering to offer free in-flight video streaming. (JetBlue Photo)

JetBlue passengers who happen to subscribe to Amazon Prime won’t have to miss out on any binge watching time this holiday season just because they’re flying at 35,000 feet.

The company announced on Tuesday that it has officially launched a new feature that gives Amazon Prime members access to in-flight Wi-Fi they can use to stream video content for free.

The two companies first announced the multi-year partnership in May. Now, service is going live on all planes equipped with JetBlue’s so-called Fly-Fi Internet service, which the company hopes to bring to its entire fleet in 2016.

JetBluePassengers who pay for Amazon’s $99-per-year Prime membership can stream TV shows and movies on their own devices — including iOS and Android smartphones and tablets — at no additional cost. Non-subscribers, meanwhile, can rent and stream the same content for a fee.

Passengers can also use the Wi-Fi to download songs, apps and eBooks through Amazon’s various online stores.

“And we’re not stopping at video; our relationship with Amazon offers opportunities to delight our customers in ways that have never been done before,” JetBlue vice president Jamie Perry said in a Tuesday press release.

It wasn’t so long ago that in-flight Wi-Fi was considered a novel new technology that was OK for checking email, but frustratingly slow when it came to more broadband-heavy tasks. But there have been some major advancements over the past few years, and some say faster Internet in the skies may be just around the corner.

amazonvideo11I’m still a little skeptical that the connection will be able to hold up when an entire plane full of people tries to stream movies at once, but JetBlue claims the connection is as fast as you’ll find on the ground. We’ll see if that is really the case once passengers have a chance to put the partnership to the test this week.

“Offering streaming movies and shows from Amazon Video over free Fly-Fi changes the game in in-flight entertainment, much like our seatback televisions did 15 years ago,” Perry said.

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