For Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay, “The sky’s the limit” took on new meaning yesterday when JetBlue announced that, starting mid-February, passengers will be able to pay for food and amenities onboard using Apple Pay.

Following FAA approval, the airline is replacing its legacy payment terminals with iPad Minis fitted with a special case that houses a near-field communications (NFC) reader. Passengers with either an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus will be able to use Apple Pay onboard, much like they already do on terra firma. Using Apple Pay they can pay for items ranging from food and beverage to seat upgrades. Those without Apple Pay won’t be left behind thanks to a traditional credit card reader also being integrated into the custom iPad Mini case.

An iOS app, Inflight Service Assistant, is loaded onto each iPad Mini and this will give cabin crew access to relevant passenger and flight information, such as alerts for frequent flyers and cabin arrangements.

The solution is also paperless since, unlike the current terminals, it emails the receipt to the passenger rather than printing it on the spot.

Since its launch in October 2014, Apple Pay has accounted for two out of every three dollars spent via contactless payments. Apple is pushing for more widespread adoption as well as international expansion with plans for Europe and China.

Apple Pay’s success has had an uplifting effect on the contactless payments industry overall, with some retailers reporting that overall mobile payments doubled in the weeks following Apple Pay’s launch.

As a result, JetBlue will also cater to Apple’s competitors in the near future. Passengers with Google Wallet or other mobile payments services will be able to pay via their mobile phones sometime “down the road,” Rachel McCarthy, JetBlue vice president for inflight experience, told USA Today.

Apple Pay already has traction with credit card companies, banks and many retailers, but adoption by other industries will serve to further spur its growth. Apple’s senior vice president for Internet software and services, Eddie Cue, is confident that JetBlue’s initiative will lead to other airlines adopting Apple Pay in the near future.

“Somebody else doing it always puts pressure on the other guy,” Cue told USA Today.

Initially, JetBlue will provide the service on all transcontinental flights between JFK and San Francisco and Los Angeles. More flights will follow in March with all JetBlue flights slated to support Apple Pay by June.

JetBlue is working on integration between Apple Pay and its own mobile app.

Image courtesy JetBlue