The effects of bubbles on a jet issued below and parallel to a free surface are experimentally studied. The jet under study is isothermal and in fresh water, with air injectors that allow variation of the inlet air volume fraction for 0% to 13%. Measurements of the jet exit conditions, water velocity, water entrainment, Reynolds stresses and surface currents have been performed using LDV, PIV and surface PIV. Air volume fraction, bubble velocity, chord length and free surface elevation and RMS have been obtained using local phase detection probes. Visualization was performed using laser-induced fluorescence. Measurements show that water entrainment decreases up to 22% with the presence of bubbles, but surface current strength increases up to 60% with 0.4 l/min of air injection. The mean free surface elevation and turbulent fluctuation significantly increase with the injection of air. The water normal Reynolds stresses are damped by the presence of bubbles in the bulk of the liquid, but very close to the free surface the effect is reversed and the normal Reynolds stresses increase slightly for the bubbly flow. Flow visualizations show that the two-phase jet is lifted with the presence of bubbles and attaches to the free surface sooner. Significant bubble coalescence is observed, leading to an increase of 20% in mean bubble size as the jet develops. The coalescence near the free surface is particularly strong, due to the time it takes the bubbles to pierce the free surface, resulting in a considerable increase in the local air volume fraction.