Passengers equipped with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus can make purchases using Apple Pay when flying with US budget airline JetBlue from mid-February.

The flyers will be able to buy food, drinks and upgrade their seats through Apple Pay’s first partnership with an airline.

The service will also be available in the future for Apple Watch users too.

The airline is also taking delivery of iPad Minis with NFC-enabled cases so cabin crew can process payments from the iPhones. The Minis can also process payments from traditional credit cards. As a result, Jetblue is junking its older payment terminals.

From the middle of this month, Apple Pay will be available on select flights from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. And then roll out to additional flights in March. All Jetblue flights will accept the payment system by June.

The cabin crew’s iPad Minis will be loaded with a new customised iOS app called The Inflight Service Assistant. The app gives crew access to the customer manifest and flight data. In addition, it enables them to identify members of the airline’s loyalty scheme.