Long domestic routes w no TV
Sep 30, 2012, 12:10 am
#31
Join Date: Jan 2012
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Posts: 887
IFE is going to be like public payphones eventually. You'll wonder who bothered using them?
About the only thing I use the IFE for when present, is playing the inflight trivia and trying to top other passengers.
It's a lot of damn wiring and expense. Bring a book, bring a phone and/or tablet.
About the only thing I use the IFE for when present, is playing the inflight trivia and trying to top other passengers.
It's a lot of damn wiring and expense. Bring a book, bring a phone and/or tablet.
Sep 30, 2012, 2:16 am
#32
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Sep 30, 2012, 5:43 am
#33
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: LAS
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Sep 30, 2012, 7:17 am
#34
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,039
They do generally attempt to keep longer flights from the hubs on equipment with IFE. Most of flights from JFK, DTW, MSP & SLC have IFE, including many with PTVs. Nearly all of the flights from ATL have PTVs. Less emphasis seems to be placed at CVG & MEM.
Sep 30, 2012, 7:53 am
#35
Join Date: Aug 2008
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According to GC map, LAX-RDU is the longest (albeit 20 miles) with the 738 without AVOD. Been on that too many times to count or really care that an aircraft has personal TVs or not as I have flown AA and UA too much as of recent.
Sep 30, 2012, 8:32 am
#36
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: BER, SAT, AUS
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Posts: 1,611
I had the liberty of chatting with a Panasonic engineer who "maintained" the IFE on one of those 332 - he was not happy. DL insists of keeping the oldest system in the house while (as he claims) overloads this old system with too much content for which is was never designed for. Interestingly he pointed out that DL did pay for having advertisement overlays now ... even in the oldest system
Sep 30, 2012, 8:44 am
#37
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,039
MSP-PUJ was flown with 320 earlier this year, making it the longest flight DL has operated post-integration without scheduled IFE. Unless MSP-LIR (which is about the same distance & flight time as HNL-LAX) was operated with the 320 as well -- I cannot remember.
Sep 30, 2012, 8:45 am
#38
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: ATL
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My experience is actually quite the opposite. Maybe 30% of long routes have AVOD, IME. I always figured they don't try as hard out of ATL because there is nearly no competition for many of the long-haul routes.
captive hub = little competition = little effort
captive hub = little competition = little effort
Sep 30, 2012, 8:59 am
#39
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: London
Programs: DL FO, BA Bronze, Avis Preferred
Posts: 851
I always bring a book or two, but find that after being in the air for a couple hours (and maybe a couple drinks), I'd like some "mindless" entertainment. I don't have a tablet, and I'm not a fan of watching content on my smartphone. Sitting in economy isn't conducive to watching something on my laptop.
Unfortunately, my past couple JFK to PDX flights have been switched to non-PTV aircraft.
Unfortunately, my past couple JFK to PDX flights have been switched to non-PTV aircraft.
Sep 30, 2012, 9:05 am
#40
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,039
You and I must be traveling from a different ATL airport! The one I utilize has tons of AirTran jets and oversized Delta-branded signs all over that say "Atlanta's hometown airline." ATL has the most competition, by far, of any trunk DL hub.In all seriousness, when you look at the DL schedule, nearly all of the flights to the Mountain & Pacific Time Zones -- sans LAS & PHX -- are scheduled with AVOD-equipped aircraft. Compare that to about half at DTW, and just a few at MSP (in fact, many of these flights at MSP no longer have any IFE at all; in fairness, these flights are significantly shorter than those from ATL & DTW).
Over the summer, most of ATL's flights to LAS & PHX were scheduled with AVOD. I never understood why DL was bouncing AVOD-equipped aircraft between ATL & Florida (again, several aircraft would literally operate these flights all day, as opposed to being scheduled with aircraft in between west coast turns) yet flew DTW-LAS with ex-NW 757 aircraft.
There's still a solid chunk of legacy DL FF who avoid former NW hubs and thus route though ATL; no doubt this factors into DL's decisions, such as keeping superior equipment on ATL-NRT until the ex-NW equipment was refurbished.
Sep 30, 2012, 6:01 pm
#43
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 2,039
Interestingly, as everybody in another thread is complaining about how service among USA-based carriers has deteriorated over time, it's worth noting that video service among USA-based carriers was limited to a small handful of flights until the late 1990s. With few exceptions, only 757 and widebodies were equipped with video, and video was only typically shown on longer flights. Today I can get video between DTW & ORD on UA.
Fun fact:
NW was the world's first airline to offer PTVs after they were installed on select 747 in the late 1980s. More importantly to my then-very young self, the system also offered video games. The system was quickly removed -- I've heard it was very buggy & overweight, but I don't know for certain why.
Fun fact II:
NW's original 320 deliveries (late 80s/early 90s) can equipped with drop-down LCD screens which were later removed. Imagine how expensive those were back then... allegedly it was also done for weight, as the aircraft had a difficult time performing flights like BOS-LAX.
Fun fact:
NW was the world's first airline to offer PTVs after they were installed on select 747 in the late 1980s. More importantly to my then-very young self, the system also offered video games. The system was quickly removed -- I've heard it was very buggy & overweight, but I don't know for certain why.
Fun fact II:
NW's original 320 deliveries (late 80s/early 90s) can equipped with drop-down LCD screens which were later removed. Imagine how expensive those were back then... allegedly it was also done for weight, as the aircraft had a difficult time performing flights like BOS-LAX.
Sep 30, 2012, 6:39 pm
#44
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: Delta, Hyatt-Plat, Priority Club-Plat, Hilton-Gold
Posts: 1,271
Operational issues often change what has been originally scheduled... but yes, certain markets are scheduled with an emphasis on IFE, while others - not so much. Remember that Delta has a finite number of aircraft, and an even smaller number of IFE-equipped aircraft. So, it's impossible to have IFE on every route, even those that some consider "long." Main priority would be range of aircraft, number of seats, how does that affect capacity, etc. But after that, yes, IFE is considered to an extent.
Sep 30, 2012, 9:35 pm
#45
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Big Apple
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My Lga-atl route almost always has IFE for a 2 hour flight. I have an iPad but sometimes prefer the live TV. I just wish it was more prevelant. If streaming content to my device is next then I vote Delta takes the bull by the horns and rolls it on out. I want "my" airline to be the industry leader.
As much as we all complain about DL we all really want it to kick @ss and generally be great. Great for them and great for us.
As much as we all complain about DL we all really want it to kick @ss and generally be great. Great for them and great for us.