JetBlue Becomes First Domestic Airline To Accept Apple Pay

Apple Pay is now part of the mile high club. No, it didn't hook up with Google Wallet in the lavatory while cruising above the skyline, but it did just team up with JetBlue, which is now the first major domestic airline carrier in the U.S. to start accepting Apple's mobile payment system in the sky. The partnership will make it easy for iPhone 6 and Apple Watch owners to pay for snacks without having to flash any cash.

"The sky is definitely not the limit when it comes to mobile payments with Apple Pay," said Marty St George, senior vice president, commercial, JetBlue. "Customers want an easy and fast transaction when they decide to make an on-board purchase so that they can get back to enjoying their flight."

Apple Pay will begin appearing on select JetBlue transcontinental flights from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco around the middle of this month. Following that, Apple Pay will roll out to additional flights in March. By June, all JetBlue flights will be accepting Apple's mobile payment option.

In order to accept Apple Pay during flights, JetBlue will dish out iPad mini tablets and NFC-enabled cases to more than 3,500 inflight crewmembers. Each iPad mini will be loaded with a custom-designed iOS app called Inflight Service Assistant. The app will give crewmembers access to customer manifest and flight data.