The days of planes being completely cut off from the world below are coming to an end, with many airlines now offering Wi-Fi. For a while, this came at a premium, designed to appeal to business class passengers.
Now, though, the likes of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are beginning to provide free Wi-Fi to all customers.
This could mean drastic changes for in-flight entertainment in the aviation industry. The days of built-in screens with limited libraries could soon become as outdated as the no-smoking signs.
No Need for Plane Screens if Flyers Can Access Their Own Entertainment
Plane screens have been a familiar inclusion of long-haul flights for decades, but would travellers go for their prescribed options over their own entertainment choices if given the option?
Nowadays, people are used to having a vast amount of choice, and some things simply aren’t offered on airlines. The ability to play online bingo, for example, is something that requires an internet connection. Internet bingo sites have numerous rooms including options like Cash Cubes and Deal or No Deal Bingo, but these have never been offered on in-flight entertainment screens.
The in-flight entertainment screens were more exciting in the days before Netflix, as many users weren’t accustomed to having so much content on demand. Now, though, different travellers have their own preferences of streaming services, with series and films that they enjoy on them. If people can access all their own favourite content, it seems unlikely that they will still want to use the in-flight entertainment consoles in their current form.
Free In-Flight Wi-Fi Is Becoming an Airline Battleground
Airlines seem to understand how much people want to use their own entertainment, as free in-flight Wi-Fi is starting to become a major selling point. Research has found that 43 per cent of travellers now bring a tablet on board flights, and 70 per cent of those people use it for entertainment.
Some of the world’s leading companies have committed to providing free Wi-Fi, with JetBlue offering it across its entire fleet and Air New Zealand in the process of rolling it out. Other airlines like Delta and Emirates provide it for free for flyers with memberships to their loyalty programmes.
In-Flight Systems Could Become More Like Smart TVs
If Wi-Fi becomes as ubiquitous on planes as an in-flight meal, it could mean that the onboard entertainment consoles are stripped out completely. Instead, there could be more charging points and placeholders for people to bring on their own devices.
There’s also the chance, however, that these systems evolve with the greater connectivity on board flights. If these screens go online, airlines may partner with streaming services and gaming platforms to offer a much wider array of content in line with what they’d usually find on their own tablets.
Free Wi-Fi is likely to become commonplace on airlines by the 2030s, transforming the in-flight experience. The biggest change could be in how people enjoy entertainment, and it may mean that seatback screens have to adapt.
