Originally Posted by
Seat 2A
First off, a hearty
THANK YOU to
moondog for taking the
OTAQ&D baton and running with a nice set of questions that have generated a robust percolation amongst the participants. Well done!
4. Which airline was the first to introduce in-flight entertainment systems on its aircraft, and what year did it occur?
Well, I believe the first airline to show an inflight movie aboard its airplane was Alaska aboard a DC-6. I'm not sure of the year, but I'm thinking late 1950s or even 1960 since Alaska took delivery of its first jet - a Convair 880 in '61 or '62.
That said, how many airplanes were we working with here? Was it just a single DC-6? Also, I don't recall hearing that movies were continued aboard the 880s.
As such, I believe TWA would be the first carrier to introduce "in-flight entertainment systems" aboard its aircraft (plural), with that aircraft being the 707. I don't believe TWA offered movies on anything other than transcon flights, which the 880 didn't have the legs for. As to the year - early 1960s, no doubt. Let's go with 1962
I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you on this one. Question
4 is similar to the "entirely computer designed airplane" question (10) in that the key term (in-flight entertainment systems) hasn't been defined with much precision or clarity. However, in the case of question 10, the intended answer makes a great deal of sense regardless of how the key term is defined, and this is not the case with IFE.
Well, I've been sparring with my bot about its intended answer v TWA and it insists that "system" implies more than just handing out playing cards or showing movies, and that the first IFE system was introduced in 1971 by an airline that was based somewhere other than the US. When pressed to back up this claim, the questioner (and the guy in my company who is in charge of it) pretty much tells me it's common knowledge, and I haven't been able to find any solid evidence myself.
As such, we can continue to discuss this (and I will divulge the intended answer, of course), but your TWA answer works for me, otherwise.
This was actually one of the more intriguing questions in the set to me, but I had no idea a wild goose chase would ensue.
Originally Posted by
Seat 2A
Since nobody else has yet had a stab at this one, we might as well clear it off the board...
7. Which airline introduced the first-ever scheduled transatlantic jet service in 1958, and which aircraft did it utilize for this service?
BOAC with the Comet 4, from LHR to IDL (Now JFK)
Yes!