iceman49

It was a mx issue, and RA was asked the question why not put them on, the response was..its hard to justify when the competition does not do it.

qball

Seems to me that most of the competition has it. The seat back type seems to work great over the POS we had 15 years ago. They put new interiors in the bus but I guess the dollars weren't there for IFE. Probably not necessary since they fly it like the 9 anyway and don't want to maximize it's longer haul capability.

johnso29

I LOL everytime I read something like this. I find it funny that people are still so hung up on the phrase "may begin the hiring process as early as 2012". I guess it was a bluff, just like the B717s.

johnso29

Yah mean like regionals growing while mainline shrinks vs mainline growing while regionals shrink?

johnso29

Ummmmm.....I guess he's referring to Us Air or Spirit, and not Frontier or JetBlue.

APCLurker

Don't quite understand all the hubabub about having IFE installed on aircraft due to my UNscientific observations while on numerous deadhead flights, especially the longer ones (3+ hrs). Edit: on domestic flts

In looking at the folks around where I can see, I don't think more than 25% or so actually use it. A few more may fiddle with the flight tracker occasionally, but it seems the majority are on their own tablet, laptop, iPod, reading, or sleeping.

What have you all noticed? Does/can the company track how much it is used?

nwaf16dude

When RA made that decision, JetBlue wasn't even flying. The competitive landscape has changed a lot since then.

In other news...go look at the Carnival charter pack on DeltaNet. It's like we stood up a whole new airline for a couple of days.

johnso29

Perhaps that was the case. This post gave me the impression the question was asked again, but recently. But I must have misinterpreted.

Sounds like Carnival was pleased with the first "rescue" mission. I'm sure these have been unexpected(but welcome) surprises for our charter department.

CAAC ATP

I completely agree. Seat back IFE will soon become a dinosaur. Just like those massive CRTs that used to hang down every few rows.

In 2007/8 an on-board server was being developed for A319s in which passengers could access content, paid and free, from their own mobile devices. The airline that was developing this went out of business, however they had already implemented a cockpit server for EFBs. Just so happens a retired Delta VP was instrumental in this program. Wonder if we'll see him again?

The option to access the internet and aircraft intranet via wifi is the logical choice with the proliferation of smart phones and tablets. Delta could easily develop an app that accesses Delta aircraft intranet services. The important modifications that need to be made are electrical outlets or usb charges at every seat.

biigD

I commute on JetBlue a couple of times per week, and while having satellite TV is nice, I could see why most airlines are ambivalent about it. I'd guess every 10th leg I do, the system doesn't work properly and JetBlue ends up issuing $15 vouchers to everyone anyway. With most people having iPads and other things to keep themselves occupied, I'm not sure that passengers are willing to pay any kind of premium for it.

If I ruled the world, I'd have each plane have one media server broadcast content wirelessly to people with their own devices. Tie it into a free app that also handles frequent flier information, electronic boarding passes, and so on. Hell, let them order drinks and food from the flight attendants with it. That way the weight is negligible and you're only dealing with maintaining one piece of hardware, not 200.