Southwest Airlines offers free inflight access to iTunes -- and some free music too

Southwest Airlines has created one of those funny-sounding amenities that you can use in the air or on the ground: InAirtainment. Basically, it gives you free inflight access to iTunes and promotes the airline’s Wi-Fi service, which is available on 65 of its planes -- and counting. And initially, you get some free songs that you can download from anywhere.

So an airline that lacks even seat-back TV screens for watching a movie or playing games invites you to bring your own entertainment.

To get things started, you can download a playlist of 20 pre-selected songs free by going to the InAirtainment website “for a limited time” (no, they won’t say how long). The songs are by “artists about to fly,” Southwest says. Translation: You’ve likely never heard of them. But still, free music is free music, and the list is savvy. (Though I haven’t yet made it through the entire list, I do like “Keep Spinning Around” by Dynamite Walls.)

Here’s how it works: Go to the InAirtainment website, click on the free downloads and a code is sent to your e-mail address. Then, let the downloading begin -- on any device that supports Wi-Fi, such as an iPod, iPad, iPhone or laptop.

Of course you can also buy other songs, games and movies through the InAirtainment site, but those aren’t free. If you do buy, Southwest profits. A spokeswoman for the airline said Southwest “gets a percentage of the revenue from purchases made via the site.”