American Airlines is in the process of #goingforgreat! Well at least I think they still are… As part of that goal the airline is going to try to streamline the passenger experience. Ever since the US Airways integration in 2016 American Airlines’ hard product has been inconsistent to say the least. Specifically, the hard product offered on the Boeing 737 aircraft. Some have the old US Airways interior without seat-back entertainment screens. Others have new American Airlines branded interior with large IFE screens. Other 737s have American’s old hard product with drop down IFE screens. Most importantly, passengers have no easy way of knowing what is offered before boarding. These inconsistencies have lead to some frustrations among passengers.
The goal of any airline is to offer a consistent hard (seats) and soft product (service). As American continues its Cabin Improvement Plan (CIP) the airline will try to finally standardize the hard product offered to passengers. In doing so, American is removing seat-back entertainment screens from narrow-body aircraft, but keeping the screens in international wide-body aircraft.
Eliminating Seat-Back Entertainment Screens
When American takes delivery of the new Boeing 737-MAX the interior will be without Seat-Back Entertainment screens. This is a growing trend with legacy carriers for domestic aircraft. The reason is fairly simple. Weight. Each seat-back entertainment screen adds weight, but so do the hard-drives located under each seat. By cutting weight the airline can save a considerable amount of fuel and cost throughout the useful life of the aircraft.
It may seem like this hurts the overall customer experience, but personally I am happy with the decision because the more I use IFE screens on domestic flights the less I enjoy them. Let me explain:
Using Seat-Back Entertainment Screens On Domestic Flights
Annoying Announcements
Majority of the flights I take these days are approximately 2 hours or less. If a plane has a seat-back screen I get excited because of the wide variety of entertainment offered and the interactive map. Usually once I take my seat I scroll through the vast collection of movies and find one worth watching for the flight. Then come the boarding announcements… Each announcement from the cabin crew pauses the video and plays over the headphones. The safety video, which I no longer care for, pauses the video. Capitan announcements, pause the video. It becomes incredibly difficult to watch a feature-length fill on a flight under two hours with all of the announcements.
There Are Some Benefits
That being said, the options offered on seat-back entertainment screens are currently much better than those offered through Gogo IFE. Also, streaming to a mobile device quickly drains my phone’s battery and it is nice to have a go to screen that will last the whole flight. Additionally, I enjoy changing the screen to the map view while reading. I love seeing where we are and how much longer we have to go. Lastly, if there is an issue with the IFE screen, passengers can generally have the crew reset the device or receive compensation for broken IFE.
Using A Mobile Device On Domestic Flights
In-Flight Wifi
Using a mobile device on American Airlines’ flights is not always as easy as it should be. The biggest issue being in-flight wifi, which does not work under 10,000 feet. Passengers have to wait until the cabin crew turns on the in-flight wifi during the accent to begin streaming to a personal device. The worst part, passengers experience a sudden loss in streaming while descending. You’re watching a movie, fully engrossed in the plot when suddenly there is a connection error. That’s right, you’re out of luck and can’t finish your movie! If American is going to fully remove IFE screens from domestic flights, the airline better make sure to offer gate to gate wifi like JetBlue.
Battery Life
Another issue I have with using a mobile device is battery life. Especially when taking multiple flights in a single day I find that my phone’s battery dies quickly when trying to watch Gogo IFE. With the inconsistencies in American’s hard product some aircraft do not have power outlets. Without IFE screens it could be pretty frustrating if your phone dies early in the flight. Also, since it is not the airlines responsibility you won’t receive compensation for a dead battery. Additionally, there are some aircraft which require passengers to share power outlets. I’ve noticed some more experienced travelers coming prepared and immediately plugging in hog the power. I see this leading to several arguments on future flights in the only option is personal IFE.
Mobile IFE Errors
I am not sure why this happens, but if I start a movie on one flight and try to continue watching on another I receive an error message which won’t let me continue watching. The only solution is closing and re-installing the app. Anyone that has used Gogo wifi mid-flight knows that this isn’t really a viable solution. So, in this case, I just choose another option.
Limited Content
Compared to the current offerings on American’s seat-back IFE screens content is very limited when using a personal device. Searching the airborne Gogo options isn’t as bad as surfing Netflix for hours, but it can be difficult finding a worthwhile content. Also, currently Gogo does not allow streaming of content from other service providers or Live TV.
Final Thoughts
This post kind of got away from me. As I started writing I realized how much I like and dislike both options. Seat-back screens offer unlimited gate to gate content, but are often interrupted by crew announcements. Streaming to a personal device offers reduces interruptions, but is only available above 10,000 feet. During any sort delay passengers will not be able to stream to a device.
I am happy that American is finally addressing the inconsistencies in their hard product on domestic flights. If the airline decides to remove all seat-back entertainment screens going forward I think it’s important to make sure to add in-seat power and gate to gate wifi. I will definitely miss seat-back entertainment screens on transcontinental flights, but won’t miss them much on the short-haul fights I seem to be taking more and more often.
