Originally Posted by
SFOSpiff
What's so stupid here (beyond the fact that F passengers should ever have to pay) is that other airlines have a way for FAs to activate the system on a per-passenger basis. I think it was Virgin America I flew with once and as a non-F passenger with a pre-paid entertainment option, the FA slid a credit-card-like object through the reader and activated the system for me.
Same with F9 -- they can handle things on a per passenger basis.
Now there were two theories on why this is in the other thread if you find it -- one is that CO "dumbed down" the interface to restrict what the FA can do (this is my theory because it matches CO's tendencies to over-rely on automation and to tie the hands of its employees). The other theory was that CO's system is newer and more modern and as such has a more simple interface with just a few buttons -- ON, OFF, or FREE. The usual suspects came up with that one.
