wlau

Took a flight on E175 operated by SkyWest last week - it looked like a brand new plane as they were not debris or garbage between the seat and cabin wall. First Class seat had AC power port but not USB! I thought it had a bad aim, so I bend over fully to look at the outlet and it didn't have a USB port like usual on other E175. Folks sitting across from me were equally stunned. I usually have a braided charging cable in my pocket and rarely keep a charger out of my bag because USB charging ports are literally everywhere...

Mr. Tickets

How did you ever manage to deal with this?

DCP2016

My only issue with the AC power ports is half the time they don't work/hold the plug in.

CPMaverick

USB emergency! Thanks for the laugh...

Bowgie

This is not unique to Delta. I recently had a bunch of KLM and AF biz-class segments on 747's and A380's. Power ports usually didn't work either because they were dead or too loose to hold an American plug in-place. These power ports are usually the universal type that take any plug type. A fix for the "too loose" problem is to bring a "European Type C to USA" adapter. The round European plugs fit much better into those airline universal power ports -- even on U.S.-based airlines.

CPMaverick

Yes, this is painful. The problem is that most AC-USB adapters sold in the USA are actually Japan-spec plugs (two equal size terminals, unpolarized). The USA went away from this in the 1950s, with outlets using polarized NEMA 1-15 plugs (one prong bigger). But since most of the AC-USB adapter electronics are un-grounded and polarization is unnecessary, they make them to the older spec (this also allows them to sell the same part number in Japan). Long story short, these plugs are a little shorter (about 2.5mm shorter) and one pin is narrower than the standard USA spec that the universal outlets were made for. So they fall out.

I typically carry a non-USA USB charger (usually the same as my destination) to make the plug work. Real pain, but I don't bother with the built-in USB usually because they are so low-amperage.

kb9522

Whowouldanewman

No_Name

There are two issues that you should consider when using a USB port that you don’t control to charge your device: Electrical and security.

Some of the tear downs on USB power ports reveal poor electrical design practices, like insufficient isolation between AC mains and low voltage DC. This is most likely not an issue on an aircraft provided USB port.

Unless you use a charge-only cable or make one yourself, your device could be compromised by a malicious device disguised as a public USB charging port. Again, probably not an issue on an aircraft.

My recommendation, however, is to be consistent and err on the side of caution. Only use high-quality chargers that you own.

3Cforme

The OP claims Southwest Companion Pass status. I wonder how many USB power ports he has found on Southwest aircraft.

hockeystl

A frequent traveler who doesn't carry a $20 power pack in their bag? So strange.....

wlau

Nothing strange about it, because charging packs are barred/discouraged on quite a few airlines... and strictly checked in China especially. If your pack does not have clearly labeled capacity, it's not getting on the plane. If you actually do travel enough, you will learn these things...

wlau

You missed the point - on the really old aircraft, sure, we don't expect USB. On a brand new aircraft, the AC socket comes with standard USB plug. It shows the lack of consideration when they configured that plane.

ATLflyer2017

I'd rather have a regular outlet as opposed to USB. Charges quicker.

Duke787

This. The USB ports charge so slowly -- the only time they ever add any value is on TATL/TPAC flights that are long enough to actually incrementally add charge during the 7-14 hour flight.