After US Airways and America West merged, the new leadership at US Airways (now in charge at American) removed power ports from the airline’s family of narrowbody Airbus aircraft (A319/A320/A321).
US Airways used to offer inflight power on these domestic aircraft, but management decided that doing so was too costly (the systems are heavy and burn fuel).
We find ourselves in a world where power on long flights is more important than ever – with inflight wireless internet, bringing your own entertainment, and Android smart phones that really need to manage longer battery life – and US Airways doesn’t offer it while competitors do.
So what’s to be done? Look to science!
It turns out we can now charge devices deep within living bodies, by wireless.
A Stanford researcher has discovered a way to charge devices deep within living bodies, potentially opening the gates to embedded sensors and “microimplants” that weren’t possible before.
More immediately, the development, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, promises pacemakers, nerve stimulators and other existing medical devices that can be smaller, longer-lasting and implanted more deeply within the brain and body.
Currently, many of these devices run on big, long-lasting batteries that still eventually die, generally requiring another round of surgery. Others are equipped with rechargeable batteries that require large receiving coils on the implant (at least a centimeter in diameter) that strictly limit where and how they can be used.
The new approach, dubbed “mid-field wireless transfer,” could allow doctors to rely more on electronics and less on drugs to treat various diseases, according to the researchers.
Good news for Doug Parker & Co! They may not need to make capital investments, after all.
- You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
I’d prefer to not trivialize something so revolutionary…no more opening up a patient just to replace a pacemaker battery! And yes, this will open other avenues as well but what an impact this will have!
If you don’t like US Airways policy, don’t fly with them. You shouldn’t be rewarding companies with business (even in the form of free flights with miles, which they get paid for by CC and other companies) if you think their competition provides a better service.
Don’t accept mediocrity.
@William Charles Which airlines would you suggest?