Tag Archives for seat back entertainment.
A passenger has taken to social media to share the story of her upgrade to first class. It didn’t come due to elite status, spending miles, or dressing sharply (or whispering ‘revenue management’ to an agent). Instead she was moved to the front cabin after her seat opponent logged into the inflight internet and started searching for “sex on planes.” And then watching sex on planes.
Selecting a provider for seat back entertainment and power is a step forward in preparing for new business class seats on aircraft that will be coming into the fleet.
Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, told employees on Thursday at a town hall question and answer session, that they’ll be watching what United’s new plan for seat back video screens – along with Delta’s current screens – means for competition. This could force the airline, he says, to install seat back screens again as well.
During the question and answer portion of Thursday’s American Airlines earnings call, airline President Robert Isom was asked about the airline’s removal of seat back entertainment screens from its domestic aircraft, and whether they have any regrets since both Delta and United will be offering what many customers see as a more premium product?
United Airlines didn’t just announce a major aircraft order today, they pitched a plan to offer a more premium flight experience. A symbol of that plan is to offer seat back entertainment screens to all passengers, not just on new planes but retrofitting the existing fleet as well.
CEO Scott Kirby isn’t just arguing that these are important to passengers. He isn’t just saying that he’s had a change of heart, covering not just United’s opportunities going forward but at his previous airlines that haven’t made similar investments. He is throwing shade at other airlines, saying he’s always been a proponent of seat back entertainment but has been stymied. That’s not even close to true.
You’re either going to think this is awesome, and can’t wait to try this on your next American Airlines flight – or you’ll be appalled and finally agree with the Dallas-based airline that seat back video is a relic of the past, and applaud their decision to remove screens from their narrowbody aircraft.
Reminiscent of Qatar Airways CEO declaring that ‘Delta flies crap plans’ Chief Customer Officer Alison Taylor suggested United is adding seat back video to older aircraft “to pretty up old planes, and we should be proud about our new planes and aircraft.”
CEO Doug Parker explained they’re removing video at passenger seats because that’s what passengers want.
As American Airlines removes the very last of its seat back video screens on Boeing 737 aircraft United Airlines has shared internally that it will go in the opposite direction.
United was already adding seat back video screens to new Boeing 737s and now will retrofit older aircraft so that passengers have screens at their seats, according to an internal video shared with employees.
During the pandemic American Airlines accelerated the removal of seat back video screens from its Boeing 737 aircraft. While other airlines aggressively clamped down on capital spending, American ramped up its effort to add seats to its planes – reducing the amount of space per passenger, even in
first class – and take out the screens.
Now there is just one Boeing 737-800 left with seat back entertainment: N981NN. And unfortunately you won’t be able to fly on it, because it’s been in storage in Miami since November 23, 2020 and is about to be sent in to be retrofit.
Delta decided to drop Gogo internet from its main domestic fleet, and replace it with ViaSat. They reiterated their commitment to move forward with free internet, and believe ViaSat will be best to drive their project streaming content to seat back entertainment screens… an effort American Airlines considered and rejected, despite an internal push for such a project.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
