Alex McWhirter examines topical business travel issues
Has traditional in-flight entertainment had its day? The question must be asked in light of budget carrier Air Asia X’s decision not to offer its passengers conventional seat-back in-flight entertainment (IFE) on long-distance flights between London, Kuala Lumpur and Australia. Instead it prefers to rent out portable devices.
Now comes news that Jetstar, a Qantas subsidiary flying around Asia and Australasia, has begun renting out iPads with pre-loaded content for AU$10 (£6) on board some domestic flights. “Based on demand we will be looking to roll out the devices across our entire domestic and international network later in the year,” says chief executive Bruce Buchanan.
For its part, Air Asia X believes IFE has moved on. It thinks passengers, particularly younger ones, are becoming too sophisticated for the airlines’ often bland offerings. Instead they now have their own iPads, iPods, DVD players and laptops for use on board. They do not want to be restricted to the airline’s entertainment, however many channels it claims to offer.
Azran Osman-Rani, Air Asia X’s chief executive, says: “Demand [for conventional IFE] is simply not there to cover the massive cost of the system, the cost of Hollywood content and the extra weight and complexity of the wiring. We think portable units are the way forward.”
Tim Claydon, Air Asia X’s commercial adviser, agrees: “[For an airline] IFE is nothing more than a sunk cost. We feel there’s a future trend for passengers to bring their own devices on board.”
Jetstar believes that as the iPad and its many imitators come to market – thinner, faster, lighter and cheaper – these will become attractive options for an airline that does not want to spend money on a hard-wired system.
Right now, only a handful of carriers have in-flight connectivity. Two examples are Oman Air and British Airways’ New York JFK service from London City. But download speeds are limited.
A breakthrough could appear as a result of Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific adopting equipment from Panasonic Avionics that will allow passengers similar connectivity to that which they enjoy on the ground. Virgin’s ten-strong fleet of A330s will see the new systems when they begin entering service from February next year, while Cathay’s passengers will have to wait until 2012.
The advanced Panasonic in-flight entertainment system has the scope to allow passengers to use their own devices on board. Quoted in industry magazine Flightglobal, Virgin chief executive Steve Ridgway, says: “The big breakthrough is that all the things on the ground that you’re used to doing, you can do in the air.”
Alex McGowan, Cathay’s head of product, adds: “We believe being connected is now an expected part of everyday life – not just for business purposes but also to stay in touch with family and friends.” The carrier says its system will allow passengers to stream content wirelessly to their handheld devices.
One problem with this approach will come from the use of mobile phones – being subjected to annoying ring tones, conversations and so on – but also from the “light pollution” emanating from, to take one example, the iPad. Already passengers are complaining about the flickering light (similar to that emitted by a TV in a darkened room) on the cabin’s ceiling and overhead lockers. On night flights passengers might have to don eye shades to escape the effects.
This problem comes about because, unlike a laptop or conventional seat-mounted display that faces you, the iPad is used on your lap or tray table so that the screen faces upwards.
It’s unlikely the main global airlines will give up on built-in IFE entirely – at least not just yet. What’s more, they serve diverse areas of the world where handheld devices might not yet be so popular. By contrast, Air Asia X and Jetstar cover simpler networks and more advanced markets. Nevertheless, the budget carriers’ argument is persuasive.
Compared with installing seat-back IFE with all the attendant wiring and AVOD (audio-video on-demand) boxes under the seats, the portable devices weigh and cost less. And when more passengers start to provide their own entertainment, an airline can cut its “for hire” stocks. So might the marketing battle for airlines to have the “biggest and best” IFE systems be at an end?
