Speaking as somone who (apparently) would rather curse the darkness than light a candle when it comes to replacing his four-minute laptop battery, onboard power would be fantastic. However....
(1) It seems like more of a niceity than a competitive requirement. With a few exceptions (including a fair number AA planes) you find very very little power in coach on anything smaller than a 767 or 757. The huge majority of planes that competitors operate in F9/YX markets do not have power. Even on those airlines with some domesitc, the availability seems pretty iffy in coach based on what particular aircraft version is used.
(2) I don't think anybody US domestic has any sort of power on planes smaller than about 125 seats.
(3) As a free amenitiy, onboard power is an expense with no
direct offsetting revenue. It needs to be cheap and light, and the more expensive and heavier it gets, the less cost-justified it can be. F9/YX is an LCC and needs to be to succeed.
If it is not too expensive, I like the idea of putting the power just in the Stretch section to further incent people to upgrade. Also, the added legroom of those seats makes using a full-sized laptop a better propostion.
Originally Posted by
essxjay
Would the side of the fuselage make more sense in terms of access/maneuverability?
It might, although for someone not at the window it means cords over or under the window passengers. If they'd consider putting it on the E190/E170, those seats do not have a center pillar between them, so I'm not sure if that complicates placing the power port between two seats by your knees as some airlines do.
Having onboard power would be a great differentiation between F9/YX and the competition, however some differentiations are cost-effective, and others are not.
Originally Posted by
essxjay
Even crapperific Amtrak has power outlets at every seat on the routes I use.
Is that just Acela, or have they expanded power beyond that line? No fair counting bathroom shaver outlets!