No More Screens On Shorthaul?
 

Maybe I've missed something here, but has the use of the folding down screens on A319/A320/A321 aircraft recently been stopped?

Just taken a flight to Stockholm (A320) and back (A321) and both times the crew did a manual safety demonstration (I know this has been mentioned before as sometimes they don't like the awkwardness of the safety video!), but then they never folded down to show the moving map either. (I was always quite fond of the moving map!)

Have I just been on two flights with broken screens? Or are BA now stopping to use them and if so why?

Wondering if it might be to do with the introduction of the new aircraft which don't have them fitted (Neo?) so they can retain consistency across the fleet?

Or am I imagining things!?


Ta!

I don't think you're imagining things, as I've also had a few flights where they were not in use, and then some others where they worked fine. Don't know why, though.

The new A320neos do not have screens - the 4 neos BA currently are only doing routes from T3 for now.

I understand that the densified existing aircraft are having the screens removed and there are a couple of A321s around which have already been done.

Sometimes manual demonstrations are done anyway (e.g. short taxi, tech issue), and sometimes they are not used during the flight (e.g. tech issue, crew forget).

To simplify a complex arrangement (given current fleet swaps), LGW aircraft don't have screens and thus no moving map; the the NEOs won't have them either. For the NEOs, the space is essentially needed for the extra air masks, and there are some complex weight/balance issues too. However the Moving Map will be preserved via the new satellite wifi software, which is installed already to most of the LHR shorthaul fleet, and waiting regulatory approval. As I understand it, the Moving Map aspect will be in some form free of charge, and more detailed than the current 3 pieces of software out there.

...crew fear going insane from listening to the Comic Relief safety video one more time? :)

Very good to know, Im not so bothered about the loss of video safety briefing, but its handy to be able to see the moving map and get a feel for where you are/how long to run.

any rough idea on the timescale of the wifi rollout?

and thinking "why can't you say Joanna Lumley now, when you had no problem in the last video...."

In the next few months, hopefully. It's a legal tussle at the moment thanks to inter-company rivalry, more details in the main wifi thread in the Dashboard.

If you are sat by the window and have a good quality mobile phone, Google maps will work (and some specialist flight map Apps) in flight-safe mode, by processing the GSM signal. 787 services are too heavily shielded, in my experience, however.

Typo for GPS I assume, GSM being the cellular signal? I routinely prefer a window seat on short haul - I must give this a try on my next flight. Thanks for the info ^

Cool, Ive never tried this, ill be sure to try when im next on shorthaul.

If you don't mind the privacy implications it will also store it in your Timeline on Google maps. Not as detailed as Flightradar but easier to access.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f19bb285ea.png

Virtually all cell phones use something called A-GPS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS) that uses cell tower signals to find your first position. The initial accuracy doesn't need to be that high, it's just trying to reduce the time and power it takes to lock on to satellites.

If you're on recent Android releases, the way they find your position is a blend of a bunch of different things, not just GPS. If you want _serious_ detail, Google puts out an Android developer podcast, and there was a recent show on location providers. Android Developers Backstage: Episode 96: Location: It's Where It's At

Very interesting, thank you ^ I was aware that cell towers could be used to determine position to a certain degree - in the context of this usage however, would we not be relying on "pure" GPS since the phone will (should!) be in flight mode, and therefore the assistance would be unavailable?

No screens last night LHR-GLA