Communal TV screens in a binge-watching age? Won’t do, airlines
Last week, XL Airways — a low-cost, long-haul French carrier — became the first airline to offer a commercial version of SkyLights service to passengers for $16 a flight.
Analysts say that digital access and entertainment could help airlines, particularly U.S. carriers that are completing a decadelong restructuring, differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive domestic and international market.
“For the legacy carriers, imitating passengers’ experiences at home is their vision,” said Diogenis Papiomytis, an aerospace analyst with the technology research firm Frost & Sullivan in Dubai.
[...] very recently, Internet services on Delta and American Airlines, among others, were sluggish at best, although airline executives say connectivity speeds are improving.
[...] many entertainment services on decades-old planes have not been upgraded to keep pace with what many travelers can readily gain access to on their mobile devices.
The high-speed services are available on aircraft from Delta and Virgin Atlantic, among others, and represent a significant upgrade to Gogo’s existing connectivity options, which have mainly been limited to sending emails or checking social media.
Anais Marzo, head of aircraft interiors marketing at Airbus, the European aircraft giant, said that passengers now wanted almost constant access to their social media feeds, email accounts and other digital services.
Passengers can continue using their own devices while accessing a larger pool of movies, television shows and radio programs, he said, enabling airlines to consider scrapping traditional in-flight entertainment hardware and reducing the cost and complexity of such services.
Since Dicko’s company was founded 18 months ago, he and his team have flown thousands of miles to test the headset with passengers.