Nitehawk

So only one of my two flights yesterday had the new ad's feature.

A319 with new content I could not skip the ad's.

CRA with old content I could skip the ad's.

So my theory is as they update the content system wide we will lose all ability to skip the ad's. At least on the Thales system.

mkjr

what is the pathetic excuse they offer up for the return of the commercials?

ah. AC. dirt bags are us.

Admiral Ackbar

Wouldn't really use the TV model as an example of a successful model for the future, have you seen the percentage break down by age that actually watch TV? Dying model, although the audience on a plane IS captive...

Apart from sports, I sure as heck never watch a series I enjoy when it is shown on TV, can't stand all the ads. And even for sports, I pay extra eg. NFL Sunday Ticket & Red Zone to make sure I never see one second of commercials. (yes, I know, I unfortunately still get exposed to advertising)

http://361capital.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/7.27/24_millenials.png

D582

This is probably not the popular opinion but this doesn't really bother me. What bothers me is IFE I have to pay for. I would rather have to watch a couple of ads than have to pay for IFE.

Maybe 90 seconds is too long. If it were say 30 seconds before a TV show and 60 seconds before a film than that might be a more reasonable compromise.

IFE is not free to provide both from a hardware/maintenance perspective and a content perspective so I would rather a few adverts be used to offset the costs than have user fees.

agjil

This is really annoying and plain stupid.
AC, if you're reading this thread, you better allow skipping ads again.
I'm so sick of the fact that ads are played on the IFE screen in the first place, when many other airlines don't do this nonsense.
And now we can't even skip the dumb ads...WTH?

superangrypenguin

Hence why AC should offer an option for both - those who don't want to pay who will have to watch the ads, or those that don't and want to shell out $

YXUhomebase

I guess many of you have forgotten the continental airlines version where using direct tv you just swiped your credit card to access the entertainment

I think it was five dollars for the flight under two hours and seven dollars for over two hours. And I believe you got a discount of two dollars if you used the same card to swipe three screens (for families and friends!)

canadiancow

How about we start calling the advertisers and yelling at them for forcing us to watch their ads while on Air Canada?

I don't want ads, and I don't want to pay extra. I'm still fairly angry about having to pull out my credit card once (or twice?) in J. It should NOT become a regular thing.

Or how about listening to an ad before you can start your car's air conditioning, unless you swipe your credit card...

bingocallerb22

I didn't pay to have to watch silly ads and now someone suggests I have to pay to not see them? wow

D582

Why complicate things like that? When AC installed the Thales IFE, they made a concious decision to not charge passengers to use it, otherwise they would have installed hardware to process the payments. (The platform itself does support paid content, and I have even seen a 'Pay Now' button appear when the system has had 'issues'). Even on the 77P and 787, I have not seen a credit-card reader.

When the IFE first had ads, you could not skip them. Then you could for the past few years (which a lot of people did not know about anyways). I'm guessing some advertisers either would pay more if their ads cannot be skipped or simply would not advertise at all if they could be skipped.

I certainly respect the opinion and arguments of not wanting ads at all. But at least for me I think there are bigger issues in the world than having to watch a few adverts whilst hurtling through the air at 900 kph in a metal tube.

PLeblond

I don't recall ever having to use a card in J. What exactly are you buying up there?

And you already had ads. Now you just can't fast forward. So you've been paying for them all along.

Also, is it me or are you often angry in an airplane?

Admiral Ackbar

Some of us don't like bending over automatically for anything corporations think they can get away with. Nothing to do with anger.

canadiancow

Anything off the BOB menu that they have in Y but not J.

No, I'm often angry on the ground, but very rarely in the air.

PLeblond

Ahhh yes, the plight of the eternally exploited frequent flyer. Thank you for reminding me of how things work around here. I had temporarily forgotten.

I'll refrain from any further attempt at context or perspective. You are all correct. Watching 90 seconds of commercials is an aberration. Who do we contact to apply for protection from this evil regime?

I'll stop posting and go back to watching this (warning: language may be offensive for some people) :

canadiancow

I actually really dislike that video (if it's the one I'm thinking of - I only looked at the title).

It implies that since you're flying, nothing else matters, no matter how bad it is. Or at least that's how people use the video.

Who cares if you're in a serious car accident? You were driving along paved roads at 100km/h in a metal tube. You can't have everything.

You might as well shut FT down, because by your definition, every FF problem is a first world problem.