5 ms·

Of all the things I want on a plane, WiFi ranks a lot lower than having a consistent power outlet at my seat. There's nothing worse than having Wifi but a lapto

by colmvp 11y ago

Of all the things I want on a plane, WiFi ranks a lot lower than having a consistent power outlet at my seat. There's nothing worse than having Wifi but a laptop that can only last a % of the flight.

rbanffy 11y ago
A business (or first) class seat beats any of those. ;-)
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- jquery 11y ago
  Especially in price.
asavadatti 11y ago
I'd rather have wifi part way than be stuck offline all the way. I can always get online on my phone if my laptop dies.
untog 11y ago
I'd love to see an airline get rid of seat back TVs entirely and just provide power outlets instead. There are already systems that let you stream movies for free over in-flight wi-fi - given that most of us have a smartphone (if not a bigger screened device) the experience would probably be better. Would suck for those without smartphones, though. Maybe they could lend out crappy Android tablets to that minority of customers.
- slapshot 11y ago
  Southwest does that in large part: there are zero in-seat entertainment systems, but 80% of planes have WiFi that includes (free) streaming live TV, (pay) streaming movies, and (pay) Internet access. No outlets yet, but rumors are that the next generation of interiors might.
- jayflux 11y ago
  Some low cost airlines have already begun doing this I believe http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3284231/End-inflight-movie-Screens-set-axed-long-haul-flights-carriers-streaming-content-passengers-phones-tablets.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3284231/End-inflight...
- tbomb 11y ago
  I was recently on an Alaskan Air flight which did just that. It had no TV's on the plane, but power outlets right on the back of the seat. For all of their in flight entertainment, they directed you to their app or site once you connected to the in flight Wi-Fi (for free). I ended up not using it and reading instead (the free content wasn't great) but I really liked the idea and it seemed to work great just poking around, as I did.
- rco8786 11y ago
  A lot(most? All?) of airlines are moving to this exact model.
- guiambros 11y ago
  Some airlines call it "PDE" - Personal Device Entertainment [1]. You connect to internal wifi and can stream all the catalog of movies available aboard. I think it's a lot more convenient than those old (and usually malfunctioning) lcd screens. Even better when there's a USB port right there, so you can charge your phone while you watch it. [1] https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/entertainment/personal-device-entertainment.aspx https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/ent...
- saryant 11y ago
  United and Southwest are already moving in this direction.
jzwinck 11y ago
Emirates' largest planes have universal AC outlets on most seatbacks, as well as USB. They also have WiFi: no charge for 10 MB and $1 for 600 MB. All of that in economy class.
- kozukumi 11y ago
  $1/600MB is a better deal that a lot of home-based internet access in Australia!
kozukumi 11y ago
Business idea - Free WiFi on all flights as part of your ticket price! Mains power supply provided for $30/hour ;) New TSA policy: Li-ion/Li-poly/etc batteries cannot be more than 20% charged for safety.
- Redoubts 11y ago
  You joke, but sometimes I wonder if the low fluid ounce limit was a conspiracy by Big Shampoo and the Toothpaste Trust.
  - rdtsc 11y ago
    Hehe, could be, or the recent reduction of carry-on luggage sizes for some airlines, sponsored by Samsonite and other luggage manufacturers, who knows...
  - jacalata 11y ago
    I would look at Big Bottled Water too.
voltagex_ 11y ago
I found out the hard way that on the new Qantas A380s, the power outlets are only in "premium" economy. It's $939 from SYD to LAX in December (holy crap, at that price I better take a trip!) in Economy, but a whopping $2539 or $3389 for Premium Economy. I like having an AC outlet too, but that's crazy. If you do get to use the outlets on the A380, be aware that they do ~75W maximum. Exceed that and they'll shut down, and they don't get reset.
- idlewords 11y ago
  Veering off-topic, if you fly Air New Zealand on that route, you can often use their name-your-own-price auction system to get an upgrade to premium economy for a few hundred dollars. I'm picturing you on that A380 cursing as you try to blow-dry your hair. What were you doing that pulled more than 75W?
  - eropple 11y ago
    15-inch Macbook Pros use (or used, maybe it's changed now?) 85W chargers, which you could tap out and fully draw on.
    - PebblesHD 11y ago
      Yep, my 15" rMPB uses an 85w charger which maxed out the in-flight outlet on my last flight, glad I charged the battery before I left, MacBooks last forever!
  - mritun 11y ago
    Charging your laptop can do that. MBP charger is 85W.
  - voltagex_ 11y ago
    http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/inflight-communications/global/en http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/inflight-communicat... - 75W @ 110V. My Lenovo X1 charger says 90W but I don't know under what conditions. Also, if we ever run into each other on our travels, I'll buy you a beer.

by colmvp 11y ago

Of all the things I want on a plane, WiFi ranks a lot lower than having a consistent power outlet at my seat. There's nothing worse than having Wifi but a laptop that can only last a % of the flight.

rbanffy 11y ago

A business (or first) class seat beats any of those. ;-)

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
jquery 11y ago
Especially in price.

asavadatti 11y ago

I'd rather have wifi part way than be stuck offline all the way. I can always get online on my phone if my laptop dies.

untog 11y ago

I'd love to see an airline get rid of seat back TVs entirely and just provide power outlets instead. There are already systems that let you stream movies for free over in-flight wi-fi - given that most of us have a smartphone (if not a bigger screened device) the experience would probably be better. Would suck for those without smartphones, though. Maybe they could lend out crappy Android tablets to that minority of customers.

slapshot 11y ago
Southwest does that in large part: there are zero in-seat entertainment systems, but 80% of planes have WiFi that includes (free) streaming live TV, (pay) streaming movies, and (pay) Internet access. No outlets yet, but rumors are that the next generation of interiors might.
jayflux 11y ago
Some low cost airlines have already begun doing this I believe http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3284231/End-inflight-movie-Screens-set-axed-long-haul-flights-carriers-streaming-content-passengers-phones-tablets.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3284231/End-inflight...
tbomb 11y ago
I was recently on an Alaskan Air flight which did just that. It had no TV's on the plane, but power outlets right on the back of the seat. For all of their in flight entertainment, they directed you to their app or site once you connected to the in flight Wi-Fi (for free). I ended up not using it and reading instead (the free content wasn't great) but I really liked the idea and it seemed to work great just poking around, as I did.
rco8786 11y ago
A lot(most? All?) of airlines are moving to this exact model.
guiambros 11y ago
Some airlines call it "PDE" - Personal Device Entertainment [1]. You connect to internal wifi and can stream all the catalog of movies available aboard. I think it's a lot more convenient than those old (and usually malfunctioning) lcd screens. Even better when there's a USB port right there, so you can charge your phone while you watch it. [1] https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/entertainment/personal-device-entertainment.aspx https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/ent...
saryant 11y ago
United and Southwest are already moving in this direction.

jzwinck 11y ago

Emirates' largest planes have universal AC outlets on most seatbacks, as well as USB. They also have WiFi: no charge for 10 MB and $1 for 600 MB. All of that in economy class.

kozukumi 11y ago
$1/600MB is a better deal that a lot of home-based internet access in Australia!

kozukumi 11y ago

Business idea - Free WiFi on all flights as part of your ticket price! Mains power supply provided for $30/hour ;) New TSA policy: Li-ion/Li-poly/etc batteries cannot be more than 20% charged for safety.

Redoubts 11y ago
You joke, but sometimes I wonder if the low fluid ounce limit was a conspiracy by Big Shampoo and the Toothpaste Trust.
- rdtsc 11y ago
  Hehe, could be, or the recent reduction of carry-on luggage sizes for some airlines, sponsored by Samsonite and other luggage manufacturers, who knows...
- jacalata 11y ago
  I would look at Big Bottled Water too.

voltagex_ 11y ago

I found out the hard way that on the new Qantas A380s, the power outlets are only in "premium" economy. It's $939 from SYD to LAX in December (holy crap, at that price I better take a trip!) in Economy, but a whopping $2539 or $3389 for Premium Economy. I like having an AC outlet too, but that's crazy. If you do get to use the outlets on the A380, be aware that they do ~75W maximum. Exceed that and they'll shut down, and they don't get reset.

idlewords 11y ago
Veering off-topic, if you fly Air New Zealand on that route, you can often use their name-your-own-price auction system to get an upgrade to premium economy for a few hundred dollars. I'm picturing you on that A380 cursing as you try to blow-dry your hair. What were you doing that pulled more than 75W?
- eropple 11y ago
  15-inch Macbook Pros use (or used, maybe it's changed now?) 85W chargers, which you could tap out and fully draw on.
  - PebblesHD 11y ago
    Yep, my 15" rMPB uses an 85w charger which maxed out the in-flight outlet on my last flight, glad I charged the battery before I left, MacBooks last forever!
- mritun 11y ago
  Charging your laptop can do that. MBP charger is 85W.
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/inflight-communications/global/en http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/inflight-communicat... - 75W @ 110V. My Lenovo X1 charger says 90W but I don't know under what conditions. Also, if we ever run into each other on our travels, I'll buy you a beer.