WineCountryUA

only a few UA international planes still have EmPower and those should be retrofit in a few months, probably summer at the latest.

The roughly 75W limitation is common in the industry, not just UA.

Axey

OS doesn't matter. Just pull the battery out if you can and work while plugged in. Not possible on recent Macbooks, but they don't draw 100W either.

exerda

This works. It does, however, mean that if there's any power fluctuation or if you bump the cord, your laptop will turn off and you'll lose your work. Having an even slightly-charged battery available to fall back on for those temporary interruptions can be a big deal.

syzygy

Apple's MacBooks will automatically disable battery charging if you use the empower ports. If you're using the regular 110V ports, I don't think you can disable battery charging. Though I think the MacBook adapters are limited to 65 Watts anyway so should fall under the power limits for in seat power.

For PC's, you can physically remove the battery.

SEA777GUY

Power is first come first served? is this true?

Upon boarding (737-8), I and my seat mate that were seated in 1A and B, found that the power outlets to charge our phones were not working. My seat mate inquired about this to the F/A and we were told that they were not working, as we were still on the ground and that they would be working once we were airborne. After take-off, I inquired again as they still were still not working. The flight attendant came back and told me that the caption had advised that the power was first come first serve and that I was out of luck due to the fact that others were using the available power.

Customer Care verified: The comfort of our passengers is important to us, and I am sorry to learn that you were unable to use the power outlet in First class In-seat power is available during boarding and inflight; however, the in-seat power does have a limited capacity. The power supply system limits the quantity of power to protect itself from overheating.

WineCountryUA

these folks should change careers to fiction writers / movie script writers -- they have such creative minds.

sb3

I had no idea, but good to know.

kenn0223

It seems logical. One would assume there is a limit as to how much power the system can deliver at one time. A good design would prevent the voltage from dropping as the usage increases, the only way to do this would be to prevent additional usage beyond a certain point. I expect when they designed the system they did not assume 100% useage in order to save money (and weight) on the inverters and a limit was the solution.

Ideally they would have a timer allowing each position to use power for 30 or 60 minutes (enough to get a good charge) and then disconnect it for a certain amount of time to allow others to use that capacity. I doubt the control system is that advanced.

I've never specify encountered the curtailment, but I have had plenty of non-functioning outlets. I had just thought that I had a dud, but perhaps I was one of the unlucky late connectors. I do, for a fact, know that the outlets in F work during boarding and (I think) during taxi.

Kacee

I find it difficult to believe that the devices typically used on an airplane (phones, laptops, tablets) would draw enough current to make these statements true.

astroflyer

Super strange. I would have assumed they would have designed their system so that every outlet could deliver the maximum power for which it is rated simultaneously. Designing for less than that seems a bit dangerous, should the circuit-restriction logic fail.

ncorman

Time to add the song "I've Got the Power" by Snap! to your playlist so you may alert others on your flight.

warreng24

The on-board power plugs have a safety. I believe there is a microswitch or a bi-metal contact that is engaged when you stick the prongs of the power plug in.

Once the contact is "made" the 110V power beings flowing. This prevents the plugs from being "live" until something is plugged into them.

I notice that when I plug in my HTC phone adapter, there's a few second "delay" until the power indicator light on the adapter illuminates. I don't get this same delay when I plug that adapter in at home.


In addition, the plugs have a wattage limit. I think its 65 watts or something along those lines. If the charger is pulling more than 65 watts, the circuit breaker shuts down and no power flows to the outlet.

mgcsinc

Okay, so here's what I think happened:

First, the pilot and or FA made up something very fanciful to shut down your complaining.

Then, customer care responded, referring to the per-plug wattage limit, which is something else entirely.

mre5765

I wonder how long it will be before the outlets are covered the way PMUA has been covering the empower outlets.

richk_30

It's a mixture of both actually.

There's one laptop power box installed inside the seat group which has a maximum wattage output covering both outlets.

It is first come first serve. In other words the first user to plug in gets whatever they want - wattage-wise - as long as it doesn't exceed the maximum total value of the box inside the seat group. The second user gets whatever is left.

There is also a maximum limit of total current available in the cabin which is to protect against an overload of the aircraft power generation system.

If this was early in the flight, and neither scenario was in effect (the later being harder to know), then I would guess there was a problem with the unit.

To answer the post above, there is two layers of safety protection in the box/outlet combination to ensure that a "valid" plug is installed (safety for the two year old on the floor with a steel fork). You need to ensure that your plug is installed straight and not at an angle.