Originally Posted by ESpen36
As a practical matter, I do NOT recommend that people plug a cell phone into the seat power to charge as soon as they get on the plane. You might notice that as the plane switches from ground power to engine-generated power, all electrical systems go off-line briefly. While I'm sure all circuits are protected for safety reasons, I still would be inclined to worry that sensitive equipment could be damaged if connected to the seat power outlets during the engine power-on/off processes.
YES. This switch from gate power to onboard power fried my last IBM Thnkpad (and the Thinkpads are known for being fairly hardy creatures). It was out of warranty and I got a repair quote for > $1000, so I just had to buy a new one. I thought of trying to file a claim with AA, but didn't bother. This was the first time I had used seat power, and it will be a while before I get the confidence back to use it again. Whatever you do, do
not use that power until the airplane has pushed back from the gate and you're sure the plane is running on engine-generated power.