UA's 737-900 Aircraft With no Entertainment System
Jul 28, 2012, 4:22 pm
#47
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton ♦ , Hyatt Carbonado, Wyndham ♦, Marriott PE, "Stinking Bum" elsewhere.
Posts: 4,998
Not really, because my iPad is filled with stuff that I've already seen, and which I had to pay for. I don't wanna have to (a) decide what I want to watch days in advance and (b) buy it. It's like bringing a packed lunch; sure, it'd probably be better than whatever the airline's gonna feed me, but I'm too lazy to think that far ahead.
Jul 28, 2012, 4:25 pm
#48
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
What if they never install IFE on these aircraft, but do install wifi... Good enough?
PS and the wifi is free, but advertising supported.
Jul 28, 2012, 5:21 pm
#49
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: ATL/TLV/SDF
Programs: AA EXP, UA LT Ag, Marriott LT Ti, Hyatt Glob, Avis PC, Busted-Knuckles Club Grand Poobah.
Posts: 2,590
Jul 28, 2012, 6:11 pm
#51
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
"Global wifi installation starting in August - yes, we're late to market but we're excited about our offering"
IFE: "Clearly, customers want to be entertained in flight." "But, it costs $5 - $10 K per screen for seat back screens..." "Passengers bringing their own screens now - Pads / Tablets - support the infrastrucutre / wifi to enable people to consume content on their own devices"
"Long term, look for ways - sponsorship / advertising - to enable them to not charge for wifi"
I have read elsewhere who the service provider / bandwidth / latency will be, but I do not recall now.
Jul 28, 2012, 6:19 pm
#52
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Whidbey Island, WA
Programs: AA EXP, DL UA AS
Posts: 207
A friend was on a 739 last month from EWR-SEA-ANC with no IFE. This upset him more than the fact that the only decaf on board, even in first class, was instant because it wasn't "cost effective" to have brewed decaf.
Same experience here, IAD-BOS on Wednesday. Beautiful plane. Liked watching the FA's reading the safety materials in the blue glow of the overhead lamps. Liked also the 110 volt plugin but was blown away by the lack of any kind of video on the plane. What are they thinking? Are these only going to be used in short runs where there is no need for IFE?
Jul 28, 2012, 6:31 pm
#53
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,854
United Airlines announced in recent months that it plans to begin equipping its entire fleet with satellite-based Wi-Fi offered by Panasonic Avionics Corp. United will start the project during the second half of this year and plans to complete it by 2015.
Jul 28, 2012, 6:51 pm
#54
Join Date: May 2009
Location: PHL
Posts: 2,842
I'm scheduled on EWR-LAX in F on Monday so far with no IFE. Can't wait. (And I thought watching "Million Dollar listing" on a 319 flt was bad enough)
Jul 28, 2012, 6:57 pm
#55
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Boulder, CO
Programs: UA Silver
Posts: 120
Yeah, United seems to be behind in general with their in flight product. Moving to SFO later this month and will be doing SFO - IAD transcons a lot to visit home, and VX is an attractive alternative. UA wins in the FF program (even for non-elites) and Economy Plus categories though - VX Main Cabin Select is simply too pricey an option compared to E+.
For me personally, IFE isn't a big deal. Wi-fi is though. Not for fun so much (I tried the VX wifi and it's way too slow for Netflix or anything similar), but for work. When it comes down to working on the plane or using an extra day of leave, VX becomes a no brainer as much as I might otherwise prefer to fly UA. Here's hoping that UA gets WiFi on the SFO - IAD route sooner rather than later.
For me personally, IFE isn't a big deal. Wi-fi is though. Not for fun so much (I tried the VX wifi and it's way too slow for Netflix or anything similar), but for work. When it comes down to working on the plane or using an extra day of leave, VX becomes a no brainer as much as I might otherwise prefer to fly UA. Here's hoping that UA gets WiFi on the SFO - IAD route sooner rather than later.
Jul 28, 2012, 7:28 pm
#57
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
Yeah, United seems to be behind in general with their in flight product. Moving to SFO later this month and will be doing SFO - IAD transcons a lot to visit home, and VX is an attractive alternative. UA wins in the FF program (even for non-elites) and Economy Plus categories though - VX Main Cabin Select is simply too pricey an option compared to E+.
For me personally, IFE isn't a big deal. Wi-fi is though. Not for fun so much (I tried the VX wifi and it's way too slow for Netflix or anything similar), but for work. When it comes down to working on the plane or using an extra day of leave, VX becomes a no brainer as much as I might otherwise prefer to fly UA. Here's hoping that UA gets WiFi on the SFO - IAD route sooner rather than later.
For me personally, IFE isn't a big deal. Wi-fi is though. Not for fun so much (I tried the VX wifi and it's way too slow for Netflix or anything similar), but for work. When it comes down to working on the plane or using an extra day of leave, VX becomes a no brainer as much as I might otherwise prefer to fly UA. Here's hoping that UA gets WiFi on the SFO - IAD route sooner rather than later.
If no, I would try kayaking to begin with (price / schedule / convenience drives your choice in carrier).
If you start traveling more, and decide to focus on a single airline to gain status, then your time as a kayaker will hopefully help you determine which is your best choice.
Jul 28, 2012, 9:03 pm
#58
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 10,969
IFE: "Clearly, customers want to be entertained in flight." "But, it costs $5 - $10 K per screen for seat back screens..." "Passengers bringing their own screens now - Pads / Tablets - support the infrastrucutre / wifi to enable people to consume content on their own devices"
I wonder if they will still end up putting some content on a server on the plane and serve them up that way - no bandwidth needed with the satellite.
Jul 28, 2012, 9:20 pm
#59
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Carolina
Programs: UA LT Gold, American Kettle, Hertz #1 Presidents Circle, Marriott LT Platinum
Posts: 927
I keep asking this, but nobody seems to have any info.
Where can I find out things like bandwidth available, drop connection stats and other hard technical details on the various WiFi available on planes. My clients VPN setup is very sensitive to dropped connections. Its a real pain to re-establish all my connectivity once a VPN link drops. Also since Notes is my email client, it a bandwidth hog too.
TIA,
Where can I find out things like bandwidth available, drop connection stats and other hard technical details on the various WiFi available on planes. My clients VPN setup is very sensitive to dropped connections. Its a real pain to re-establish all my connectivity once a VPN link drops. Also since Notes is my email client, it a bandwidth hog too.
TIA,
Jul 28, 2012, 9:34 pm
#60
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP,AS MVPG,MR Platinum,HH Gold
Posts: 1,343
I was snarkily under the impression they were combining the best of CO (SHARES, the website) with the best of UA (total lack of entertainment) 