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US Airways, other carriers race to upgrade in-flight entertainment
Dawn Gilbertson
courtesy of The Arizona Republic
Dec. 23, 2007 06:42 PM
Nancy Drew and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
Those are the only movies showing on most US Airways domestic flights this holiday season. Passengers heading East before New Year's get the savvy young detective, those heading West, a puffed-up Tim Allen.
The Tempe airline hopes to broaden the movie menu in the not-too-distant future with a new fiber optic in-flight entertainment system in development with an undisclosed manufacturer. It plans to test the touch screen seat-back system on one plane as early as late spring.
The goal is to give US Airways an edge over its competitors in the race for passenger loyalty, while also boosting revenue. There will be a charge for the new system, but prices haven't been decided. US Airways' current movie and short-video lineup is free for customers who bring their own headsets. The airline also sells headsets for $5.
Other airlines aren't standing still, of course. Delta Air Lines offers a new seat-back system on its transcontinental flights, including Phoenix to New York, that includes movies on demand, live television and HBO programming. It has aggressive plans to expand it to other routes.
Virgin America, a San Francisco startup, offers a seat-back system called Red that includes more than 25 pay-per-view movies and satellite television. The airline calls it the most advanced entertainment system in the sky. New releases are $8.
JetBlue and Frontier have their popular live television, AirTran XM radio.
In-flight Internet access is also looming. JetBlue recently began testing it on one plane and American and Alaska are next up. Southwest, a big player in Phoenix, also plans a test of in-flight Internet next year.
Travis Christ, US Airways' vice president of sales and marketing, credits the renewed focus on in-flight entertainment to the development of smaller, more economical systems as well as airlines' improved financial health.
The costs of a bulky system aren't inconsequential, adding up to tens of millions of dollars a year in additional fuel when fuel prices are high like they are now.
"We're entering a new era in in-flight entertainment that all of a sudden works not only for a customer, but also works from the airline's perspective," he said.
He said US Airways is initially focusing on movies and related features rather than the Internet because it believes that's where there is more demand. Unlike the in-flight Internet systems being tested, US Airways' video-on-demand system doesn't require customers to bring their own device, such as a laptop or BlackBerry.
"We think this will be attractive to a much greater percentage of people on the plane," Christ said. He said the airline has studied passenger behavior on planes to arrive at that conclusion. "You don't ask them what they do, you look at what they really do," he said.
In a typical 12-seat first class cabin, he said, two or three passengers are working, two or three are watching movies on their laptop, two or three are watching the airline's in-flight movie and the rest are reading a book or sleeping. Christ said frequent business travelers often don't have much time to go to the movies, so they like the option of catching up on new releases during flights.
The US Airways system will likely start with a dozen movie options and later expand to dozens, along with songs, comedies and other features and the ability to buy meals on board, check connecting gate information, or shop the SkyMall catalog.
Tempe business traveler Mark Phillips, who flies US Airways several times a month in his job as program manager for military supplier ArmorWorks, sounds like the perfect customer for the new system. He estimates that he puts on his noise-cancellation headphones and watches the in-flight movie on about half of the flights he takes because he rarely gets to the movie theater.
"If I don't have work to do that I have to get done on the plane, movies or entertainment are good," he said.
There are times, though, when he wishes he could tackle his e-mail on the plane so he doesn't have thirty urgent messages waiting on his Samsung BlackJack waiting when he gets off the flight.
That's the route Southwest is taking. The Dallas carrier, the second busiest carrier out of Phoenix after US Airways, next year will test Internet access on four planes. It has not announced its partner in the deal or the cost.
"The one thing that people really want in flight, especially if they're traveling on business, is to be connected," said Angela Vargo, manager of product development. She said Southwest, which has taken several steps to lure more business travelers, believes Internet access will give it a competitive edge.
US Airways expects the same benefit from its new system. "We think that in-flight entertainment does influence some amount of customer behavior," Christ said, pointing to JetBlue's loyal cadre of travelers.
US Airways' system will be tested on an Airbus 320 beginning in late spring or early summer and will run for three months.
Dawn Gilbertson
courtesy of The Arizona Republic
Dec. 23, 2007 06:42 PM
Nancy Drew and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.
Those are the only movies showing on most US Airways domestic flights this holiday season. Passengers heading East before New Year's get the savvy young detective, those heading West, a puffed-up Tim Allen.
The Tempe airline hopes to broaden the movie menu in the not-too-distant future with a new fiber optic in-flight entertainment system in development with an undisclosed manufacturer. It plans to test the touch screen seat-back system on one plane as early as late spring.
The goal is to give US Airways an edge over its competitors in the race for passenger loyalty, while also boosting revenue. There will be a charge for the new system, but prices haven't been decided. US Airways' current movie and short-video lineup is free for customers who bring their own headsets. The airline also sells headsets for $5.
Other airlines aren't standing still, of course. Delta Air Lines offers a new seat-back system on its transcontinental flights, including Phoenix to New York, that includes movies on demand, live television and HBO programming. It has aggressive plans to expand it to other routes.
Virgin America, a San Francisco startup, offers a seat-back system called Red that includes more than 25 pay-per-view movies and satellite television. The airline calls it the most advanced entertainment system in the sky. New releases are $8.
JetBlue and Frontier have their popular live television, AirTran XM radio.
In-flight Internet access is also looming. JetBlue recently began testing it on one plane and American and Alaska are next up. Southwest, a big player in Phoenix, also plans a test of in-flight Internet next year.
Travis Christ, US Airways' vice president of sales and marketing, credits the renewed focus on in-flight entertainment to the development of smaller, more economical systems as well as airlines' improved financial health.
The costs of a bulky system aren't inconsequential, adding up to tens of millions of dollars a year in additional fuel when fuel prices are high like they are now.
"We're entering a new era in in-flight entertainment that all of a sudden works not only for a customer, but also works from the airline's perspective," he said.
He said US Airways is initially focusing on movies and related features rather than the Internet because it believes that's where there is more demand. Unlike the in-flight Internet systems being tested, US Airways' video-on-demand system doesn't require customers to bring their own device, such as a laptop or BlackBerry.
"We think this will be attractive to a much greater percentage of people on the plane," Christ said. He said the airline has studied passenger behavior on planes to arrive at that conclusion. "You don't ask them what they do, you look at what they really do," he said.
In a typical 12-seat first class cabin, he said, two or three passengers are working, two or three are watching movies on their laptop, two or three are watching the airline's in-flight movie and the rest are reading a book or sleeping. Christ said frequent business travelers often don't have much time to go to the movies, so they like the option of catching up on new releases during flights.
The US Airways system will likely start with a dozen movie options and later expand to dozens, along with songs, comedies and other features and the ability to buy meals on board, check connecting gate information, or shop the SkyMall catalog.
Tempe business traveler Mark Phillips, who flies US Airways several times a month in his job as program manager for military supplier ArmorWorks, sounds like the perfect customer for the new system. He estimates that he puts on his noise-cancellation headphones and watches the in-flight movie on about half of the flights he takes because he rarely gets to the movie theater.
"If I don't have work to do that I have to get done on the plane, movies or entertainment are good," he said.
There are times, though, when he wishes he could tackle his e-mail on the plane so he doesn't have thirty urgent messages waiting on his Samsung BlackJack waiting when he gets off the flight.
That's the route Southwest is taking. The Dallas carrier, the second busiest carrier out of Phoenix after US Airways, next year will test Internet access on four planes. It has not announced its partner in the deal or the cost.
"The one thing that people really want in flight, especially if they're traveling on business, is to be connected," said Angela Vargo, manager of product development. She said Southwest, which has taken several steps to lure more business travelers, believes Internet access will give it a competitive edge.
US Airways expects the same benefit from its new system. "We think that in-flight entertainment does influence some amount of customer behavior," Christ said, pointing to JetBlue's loyal cadre of travelers.
US Airways' system will be tested on an Airbus 320 beginning in late spring or early summer and will run for three months.
