Watching live TV at 35,000 feet is a perk many airlines offer today, but decades ago, it was never a thought. As much of the world stays connected and entertained in this digital age, airlines have adapted to give travelers the best possible onboard experience. Whether a traveler is on a journey alone or with family and friends, streaming shows and movies inflight is one of the most important aspects of inflight entertainment.
The industry has come a long way – even most inflight magazines have been phased out, as passengers can observe the same content through their personal electronic devices. Live TV, however, would not be a reality if it were not for inflight connectivity. Just as streaming has become such a hit, the ability to surf the web is also a major aspect of the inflight experience, if not more.
While most airlines have physical screens installed onto seatbacks , bulkheads, or stored into armrests, others have worked on strengthening their WiFi service to allow passengers to stream content from their own devices – also known as bring your own device onboard (BYODO). Some carriers have found advantages of this practice, such as decreasing cabin weight, but there is always a catch. Who started it? Watching live TV on a flight first comes down to which airline the passenger is flying with.
Continental Airlines was one of the first airlines in the US to establish a partnership with DIRECTV, which gives passengers access to more than 100 TV channels. The airline equipped nearly all of its Boeing 737 fleet (-700s, -800s, -900s, and -900ERs) and 757-300s with satellites on top of the plane’s fuselages and innovated how it could simply charge passengers for using the service. Small credit card swipes were on the screens, providing a simple way travelers could opt into the service.
This offering was a game changer, as its competitors did not offer such an amenity. When Continental merged with United Airlines, the planes continued to have the service. However, United slowly began to update the interior of newly delivered 737s and removed seatback screens, making live TV capability obsolete on select aircraft.
Additionally, United’s legacy domestic aircraft, such as its Airbus A319s and A320s, never had the service. Today, some ex-Continental aircraft are still equipped with DirecTV, but United tells travelers to “look for the DIRECTV logo in the Inflight Amenities tab” when they are viewing details of their flight. The DIRECTV difference JetBlue Airways also started working with DIRECTV in its early years, installing the service on its A320 fleet.
The carrier still has a strong partnership with the company, as some of its newest jets are equipped with the service. JetBlue Aircraft Type DIRECTV Channels Embraer E190 & Airbus A320 (Classic Interior) 36 channels Airbus A320 (Restyled Interior) & A321 100+ channels Airbus A220-300 30 channels Some of JetBlue’s featured channels comprise a variety of genres: Sports News Entertainment Nature & learning Family & lifestyle With ad-supported live-streaming on flights, GDC media wants to change the landscape of live TV in low-cost carriers. Some sports channels include ESPN, NBC Sports, FOX Sports, and the NFL Network.
The news channels include CBS News, NBC News, MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, and ABC News. Bravo, HGTV, FX, Comedy Central, and TBS are among the entertainment channels. Should passengers want to watch nature and learning, they can tune in to the History Channel, The Food Network, Discovery, National Geographic, Animal Planet, and The Weather Channel.
For family-friendly and lifestyle content, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, A&E, USA Network, Lifetime, and The CW are among the featured channels. DIRECTV appears to have been a fan favorite and a successful element of the onboard experience, as JetBlue has four of its five aircraft types outfitted with the service. One downside to DIRECTV is that the service is not available on flights outside of the continental US, which could be one reason why most airlines do not utilize it.
Live TV streaming JetBlue is only a few years into offering transatlantic flights. These routes came with the arrival of the A321LR to its fleet. The aircraft type, notably, is not equipped with DIRECTV, but instead has Live TV streaming capabilities.
With this, however, not as many channels are offered. According to the airline, its A321LRs only have five live TV channels available compared to the more than 100 provided on its A320s (restyled interiors) and A321s (mint and non-mint cabins). Live TV streaming is more of what other airlines use today.
A few years ago, United announced its cabin interior refresh program called United NEXT. The new interior introduces seatback screens at every seat. Along with screen entertainment returning, the airline also has personal device entertainment for those who prefer to watch content from their electronic device.
Delta Air Lines is similar to United in that it offers entertainment through both a seat back screen and a personal device. The other two major US carriers, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have a different approach. They encourage passengers to BYODO, but this is simply because most of their planes are not equipped with seatback screens.
American only has seatback screens on select A319s, A321Ts, and its widebody aircraft for long-haul flights. While the airline says there are advantages to passengers enjoying entertainment from their own devices, such as keeping aircraft lighter in weight, live TV streaming is just not as extensive as the DIRECTV counterpart. According to The Window Flyer , one of the major disadvantages of using an airline’s inflight entertainment is Live TV.
This is because only the major networks are offered. Additionally, if the aircraft’s Wi-fi connection was not working for whatever reason, passengers would have no form of entertainment. An airline with seatback screens may not have Live TV capability if there is a WiFi outage, but there would still be several other forms of content available, such as TV shows, movies, and music.
Despite several inflight entertainment options today, some travel experts suggest that passengers still download a couple of movies, TV shows, and music to their devices just to be safe. Additionally, travelers should always bring earbuds or headphones, as many airlines have introduced a quiet cabin policy to ensure that everyone has no disruptions during the flight. Delta Air Lines hands out free earbuds to passengers during boarding, but other carriers may only offer them for purchase.
It has been confirmed that seat-back entertainment is not a priority for its short-haul narrowbody fleet..
