Bill Cosby was right. Children do say the darndest things, a point that was underscored for me recently when I took my eight-year old daughter on her first trip abroad. While I was checking us in at London Heathrow for our return flight home to Philadelphia, my daughter observed that the US Airways kiosk was offering to upgrade us both to business class…for a sum of just under $1,600. “Oh, come on mom. Please. Please. Please,” she begged. Overcome with exhaustion (this travelling with kids business can wear a body down), I actually considered springing for the upgrade. But the last vestiges of my sanity prevailed and I had the sense to ask: “Why do you want an upgrade to business class? For a bigger seat? You’re still fairly small. You don’t suffer like your mommy suffers in economy class.” Her reply stunned me. “No, I want to watch television in the seat.”
Well, I’ll be darned.
You see, on our US Airways Boeing 757 flight to Dublin and our subsequent short-hop flight to London, my daughter was mighty disappointed to discover that some aircraft don’t have this thing called inflight entertainment (IFE). So she naturally assumed that TV-watching pleasure could only be accessed beyond the curtain in those special places called “first class” and “business class”.
I was ecstatic to be able to inform her that – somewhat inexplicably, considering the carrier’s recent vocal hostility to IFE – US Airways does in fact offer “television” in economy class on the Airbus A330 that we would have the pleasure of flying home on.
Needless to say, those little screens provided hours of diversion during the flight. When my daughter had run through the kid-friendly movie content, she simply left her ear buds in, switched over to the audio soundtracks on the IFE, and pulled out the family iPad to play some games.
In so doing, she mimicked the type of behaviour that she and so many other kids engage in on the ground – they chill out with not one screen, but two. And, gulp, sometimes even three.
These days everybody seems to have a predication about the future of embedded IFE. Time and again, the question is asked: “Can IFE really survive in a world populated with touch screen personal electronic devices?” There is little doubt that IFE must evolve (and is evolving right before our very eyes). But after witnessing the “double screen” action of my kid, I wouldn’t be too quick to count it out.
July 29, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Its a shame that all airlines can’t be like Virgin America where you can watch TV at your seat in economy and don’t have to pay for first class for having just flown with them great service . I do think looking at the photos of first class on US air it really isn’t worth the money when you compare it say my favorite (as I sure you know by now) Air New Zealand where first class on there 777. Is luxurious compared to just wider seats and better leg room .
July 30, 2012 at 6:40 am
If the flight had connectivity, she will at some point in the future be posting on her facebook profile!
July 30, 2012 at 11:31 am
Very true, David. She has already started asking for one! (She has a five year wait
)
July 30, 2012 at 11:11 am
How true Mary. Very soon, it wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect the living room in-flight. You may be having one screen in the seat, one iPad in your hands, a laptop on the fold-out table and your cellphone nearby. After all, if it’s a long haul flight, you’d probably use them all at one point or the other, isn’t it?
Sometimes, kids show us the future, very clearly!
July 30, 2012 at 11:32 am
And of course, my iPhone snapped the picture while I too was watching a movie (I finally had a chance to watch The Hunger Games…flying is just about the only time I get the chance to watch early window content).
July 30, 2012 at 10:50 pm
I think that informal quote about what kids say rightfully belongs to Art Linkletter, not Bill Cosby. You’re probably not old enough to remember him… As for more IFE enhancements, especially for kids and in coach, don’t hold your breath. I think it (Enhancements beyond what is already offered) are a huge waste of money. Even on very long flights, truly superior IFE has yet to make a deep penetration into the fleet. The two most common crew responses to questions about IFE seem to be, “I’m so sorry; this airplane has not yet been upgraded, but we’re working on it,” and “We’ve tried everything that we are allowed to do in-flight, sir. Apparently it is just not going to work during this flight.” Seriously good IFE systems remain expensive, a pie-in-the-sky luer, and simply not available in most cases. Even when it is available (and functional) the library of offerings is usually substandard junk. Why? Because it all costs a huge pile of bucks that most carriers cannot afford. The hardware is haultingly expensive, retro fitting is expensive and takes the aircraft out of service for several days, also very expensive. And lastly, most of the better content of functional IFE systems requires substantial royalty payments. In most cases, it is simply not worth the trouble and smarter carriers ought to avoid it to the degree possible. Substandard IFE may irritate a few customers, but I doubt that many buy their tickets based on IFE availability. Personally, I rarely use the systems (even when hey work) beyond basic flight data and the occasional opportunity to hear ATC exchanges such as United offers with their Channel 9 option. Even then, enabling Channel 9 is always at the Captain’s option and a lot of them say, “No.” (or) “Hell No!” My most sincere, best advice for those who are making long flights, be it in coach or a premium cabin, is to bring one or more good books. If in a premium cabin, take advantage of the ‘free’ booze options (if you drink when flying – I do not) and munch your way through as much of the menu as possible. If you have in-seat power and brought your laptop, work, play your own games or whatever and no, unless absolutely essential, don’t bother with the Wifi – because it is waaay too expensive and usually slower than great grandma with her walker. The real take home here is that if you (or your kids) need entertainment, provide your own.