Will Tablets Eventually Become the Future of In-Flight Entertainment?
By Karla Robinson
August 7, 2012
August 7, 2012
- Removing the built-in entertainment systems common on airplanes today could save some airlines around 14 gallons of jet fuel per hour by taking tons off the plane’s weight. And on those long flights, this change can equate to hundreds of dollars saved per flight.
- On average, in-flight entertainment systems weigh in around 13 pounds per seat. Offering iPads instead could drastically cut down this weight and even reduce costs of replacing or maintaining IFE systems.
- “In addition, airlines have to provide tablets only to actual passengers who didn’t already bring their own, and some passengers might not want to watch movies and so would decline the device. Empty seats don’t get them, either, saving even more weight and expense,” notes ReadWriteWeb. “In classic airline fashion, they’ll likely yield management analysis to precisely calculate how many tablets they’ll need for each flight.”
- Those opposed to the change claim tablets take up space on trays and are inconvenient for lie-flat seats. However, new IFE platforms could let passengers “connect their own devices to the on-board entertainment or connect their tablet’s content to the seat-back screen,” the post states.
- “Eventually, with the increase of broadband availability on flights, airlines may not even bother to provide proprietary content at all: passengers will bring their own, or surf online to find their own entertainment,” the article continues. “And as tablet penetration continues to increase, more and more passengers will likely tote their own tablets onto the plane.”
- Customers will ultimately have the last say as they choose with their wallets, ReadWriteWeb suggests.
No Comments Yet
You can be the first to comment!
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.