petewinca

Maersk Air had Standard, M, L and XL classes!

rebadc

So I had hoped to focus on IFE but I'm not the Mod.

My question centers around a response in another thread that talks about crew conversations overheard recently.

Statement was that planes would be fit out with Gogo Vision IFE to allign with AA's product.

This would be in addition to IFE enhancements to Business/First on long haul flights.

This is important for those of us who may own stock in a particular technology company^

adamj023

US and AA means more enhancements and better services on the routes.

Nothing unexpected here. Airlines have improved in their existing markets.

BoeingBoy

US had announced GoGo Vision 6-9 months before the merger was approved so that may be the source of crew talk/rumors. My guess, however, is that IFE content will be streamed from onboard servers to PEDs (FC/Business will use provided PED's). The current A330 AVOD may or may not be changed, although the greater selection of movies sounds like it may also become streamed content.

FWIW, onboard servers with streamed content for IFE is what WN is going with although they don't use GoGo but rather one of the other providers that has used satellite transmitted WiFi.

Jim

adamj023

Every airline will choose it's VOD and internet options. It is a no brainer. Airlines are more competitive than ever and need more to get those high end premium dollars and they need to reduce costs in obtaining it.

Come April 1st after one world integration and routing changes for AA, things should get a lot better and I am more than sure AA and US are going to be a lot happier on that date with more profitability for their firms and better products to customers going forward.

Satellite vs wireless will coexist but firms will need to keep up marketshare and so products should evolve going forward.

Legacy airlines are still upgrading products on aircraft.

I predicted AA would use VOD on US but it wasn't confirmed till now.

Superguy

Hmmm, a few things I noticed.

Meals to/from MSP-CLT/PHL - must be trying to line up with DL here.

No appetizer on the 2.75-3.5 hour flights? Lame. It's not like they're serving the appetizer separately and it takes more time.

I wonder if they're still going to do dinner on select longer routes that leave after 8pm. PHX-ANC and CLT-SLC come to mind. They technically fell outside the dinner hour but always got a meal.

I'm sad to see the Envoy name go. I think AA should have adopted that. Business class sounds so plain and blase.

BoeingBoy

Not really satellite vs wireless since the early competition for airbourne WiFi was between satellite and ground-based systems. Both communicate with the planes wirelessly, as is the communication between the plane's WiFi hotspot (or servers for IFE) and any individual's PED.

GoGo captured the lion's share of the airline market but limitations of it's ground-based service have prompted a change to satellite. WN, with Row 44, was using a satellite system from the start so has a head start for streaming IFE. GoGo's Vision is just catching up to the "satellite from the start" providers.

In a way, it's a shame that GoGo got so much market share with what's become an inferior ground-based system. They didn't have the bandwidth for wide adoption and they control pricing much more than those companies who used satellite-based systems from the start. For example, all day access on WN is $8, on US it's $14.

Jim

3Cforme

I'd love to see a hundred random speed tests from GoGo ground tower flights and 100 WN Row44 flights. Looking at the WN forum one rarely(!) sees compliments about how fast and seamless is the service from Row 44.

As for bandwidth for airline streaming video, is any of that live, anyway? IIRC the GoGo service was delivering video via wifi on the on-board server.

SkyTeam777

I wonder why these were mentioned specifically...is that the only exception to the new meal service windows? What about other hub to hub flights like CLT-IAH for example?

SFTNYC

I think it's because PHL/CLT-MSP fall a tiny bit below the 2h45m block time but will still be included in the new service (albeit with only the "lite bites" basket between 1:30pm-4pm), while markets over 2h45m will have constant meal service 5am-8pm.

I assume the removal of the appetizer on 2h45-3h30 is to differentiate the service on the longer flights (in addition to the longer flights also getting the classic snack basket). Hopefully the 4h30m on the web was a typo...

Also, are the finger sandwiches like the ones BA serves as the second meal on westbound Club World flights (prepackaged "tea" sandwiches)? Hard to imagine anything else, although they're not that great...

crimsonAA

Don't worry. Envoy will live on...

http://hub.aa.com/en/nr/pressrelease...-name-to-envoy

SFTNYC

Hopefully the 4h30m window for full meals (including appetizer) was a typo? Or is it (excluding the carve-out for CLT/PHL-MSP):
2h45-3h30: meal with no appetizer (Lite Bites after 8pm)
3h30-4h30: meal with appetizer (lite bites after 8pm)
4h30+: meal with appetizer and snack basket (lite bites and breakfast box after 8pm)

Any ideas?

Superguy

Perhaps, but there are plenty of other flights that come close to the 2.75 hr mark. PHL-TPA does, for example.

Perhaps, but again, I don't see why a differentiation would be needed. The appetizer is small potatoes. It would make more sense for US to cut the dessert than appetizer as it's served separately (not that I'm trying to give them ideas).

It's not like the appetizers are hugely grand anyway. Just seems like a cheap move on US's part IMO.

BoeingBoy

And the same applies to US, although there's enough complaints about slow speeds with the WiFi. No airbourne system is going to deliver the speeds most consumers have at home or work, at least not anytime soon.

I think that no matter what system a carrier uses, IFE will be streamed from servers on board. Satellite bandwidth is too expensive to have enough bandwidth for IFE to be streamed from the ground. The big difference the consumer will see is probably going to be pricing. GoGo invested in all the ground station infrastructure that the companies that started with satellite coverage didn't have, so GoGo controlled the pricing more. Either the carriers, or 3rd parties they recruit, will have to subsidize the WiFi portion if GoGo is used while the carrier has much more control of pricing with companies like Row 44, whose model was the carrier paying for aircraft installation of the satellite technology as opposed to GoGo paying the smaller cost of installation on planes for the lower cost ground station on-board systems.

Jim

BoeingBoy

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if the ultimately combined meal program was somewhere between current US and current AA. That would mainly make transcons with the full meal service - or over 4:30 flight time. Get a lighter meal than AA currently serves on the shorter end - 2:45 to 3:30 flight length.

Jim