But WS tvs have commercials.... 3 minutes of them every 10 minutes! So over a 90 minute span, you'll have 18 minutes of commercials! That's a lot. But people aren't outraged because we're used to this when watching TV on the ground.
This. For exactly this reason, I haven't had cable since 2008. I do, however, have a computer hooked up to my TV.
The second thing is that with TV ads, I'm not a captive audience. I can get up, switch channels, mute it, etc.
What's WS?
AC has two choices for the IFE to make economic sense: a)show ads, b) charge people. Which one will alienate your pax the most? Which one will reflect poorly on the brand of a full service (by north american standards) airline the most? Which one will give you most of an edge over the competition the most? AC seems (for once) to have made a good decision for its brand.
I agree. As I said a couple posts above, I'd rather watch ads on a flight as "payment" for a movie.
Yeah, it sucks, but I don't complain about it because if I didn't want ads, I would put my laptop bag under the seat in front of me, deal with the lesser legroom, plug in my laptop when at a cruising altitude, contort the laptop to an ideal angle, turn on the laptop, wait a few minutes, put in a DVD or watch the DVD that I paid to either rent or own (assuming I DO NOT download movies because THAT IS SOOO ILLEGAL
), and then watch. The ads are less of an inconvenience as getting out the laptop, and much less than paying per movie without ads.
Fair point. Not to mention the fact that I can watch the IFE any time the PA is not on, but can't open my laptop unless we're at the gate or above 18000'. Still, on 90% of my flights, I keep my laptop at my seat for exactly this reason.
Now with the ads in a confined space, are you just as outraged as the ads on subway platforms? Inside busses? On the LED TVs in elevators in most office towers? In YYZ T1? (ugh that jingle from that cellphone ad last summer is
still in my head
) Inside most taxis? Yeah, I hate how advertising is "progressing", but I wouldn't just blame AC for this.
This obviously varies person-to-person, but I'm not as bothered by these because I'm not a captive audience strapped to a seat. Ads in most of these places are visual only. I can choose to look away. US Airways (a few years ago) and Air Canada (last month) crossed that line when they played advertisements with video on the screens and audio
on the PA while I was captive in my seat. As a fairly frequent flyer, I treasure quiet(er) time while flying, and I strongly object when that is impinged upon.